Guilty Innocence
by Woofmeowoink
Summary: Memories are always inconvenient. We can't forget about useless things, but things that are important are easy to forget. However, the worst kind are memories you want to forget, but can't. One that's burned into the back of your mind. Our lives consist of things like this. We can't simply push it aside, without looking back. Kyou represents these. Pairings undecided. OC, GoM.
1. Chapter 1

Guilty Innocence

Chapter One: Please Call Me Kyou.

* * *

In the seemingly blue painted sky, the white clouds stuck closely together. The overwhelming sunlight scorching the asphalt shook the atmosphere to and fro.

Nothing really had changed. Nothing, since yesterday, or the day before. Everything was filled with the same feel, the same nostalgia, the same sense of camaraderie between the students, all of it, down to the very last grain.

This was Kaijo High School.

Like every other day, the teacher stood at attention in front of the classroom, beginning rollcall. That part hadn't changed either. It hadn't changed.

"For those planning to sign up for the basketball team, please sign the form and hand it in to a teacher before next week!" The PA system notified the students. The classroom was set a murmur with just those words. And, naturally, those words set a feeling of nostalgia in Kanna Kyou. It seemed almost as though she were still in her Middle School.

Having her thoughts then were interrupted by a murmur of excitement from her classmates.

"Huh? Huh? Basketball! Oh?! We've got the pretty cute one, Kise, from the Generation of Miracles!" A girl squealed.

Kyou was not able to overhear this, but undoubtedly everyone would gossip about Teiko's Generation of Miracles, which were five (plus one) members assembled as regulars, playing at a professional level.

In fact, she wondered which high schools each of them went to.

After all, she was friends with every single one. Maybe she would visit them sometime. But did anyone go to her high school? She had previously overheard Akashi saying he would be going to Rakuzan, but the others hadn't even mentioned a word to her.

Sighing after the bell had wrung, she shouldered her bag and walked out into the hallway to prepare for her next class.

* * *

… It was awfully quiet in High School. Surprisingly, there wasn't much drama. Usually, she would hang out with one of the liveliest crews ever—but, like so, that was in the past. That was in Middle School.

Those days would never return. Especially not after that event.

"Kannacchi!" A voice yelled through the hallway.

That voice would never come. That voice was what would always happen in the past. But, oddly enough, this voice… seemed awfully real.

Turning to where the source of the voice was coming from, she turned to the side.

It was him. Kise Ryota. For a mere fraction of a second, her uninterested look flashed a meager smile. He walked up to her, with his usual smile.

"I'm so glad you came to the same High School as me~! I was sure you were going to choose Akashicchi's or Midorimacchi's High Schools." He let out a fake pout. "I was gonna be all alone in this school, then Kannacchi came!"

"I'm here now, aren't I? No reason in obsessing over it." She said nonchalantly to him, then gave a little grin to know that she was joking.

"So mean!" He smiled. "We'll have to catch up later. I have a lot of things going for me right now, so I really do have to go! I should be free after school though, if I don't have Basketball practice—oh, speaking of, you should be a manager, now that everyone kno—"

"Kise-kun, you're rambling." She interrupted.

"Ahh—! I'm going to be late for my class—"

"Good luck." Kyou said.

"... Did Kannachi... just wish me good luck? That means I'll do best for sure! See you, then!" He quickly ran of, leaving only a lingering scent behind.

* * *

Kise Ryota didn't exactly like Kannacchi in that way. If he were to place where this feeling started, it would probably have been in Teiko. He just liked the fact she didn't tie him down, like other girls. Yeah. That was definitely the reason.

In fact, no matter what he decided, she'd probably assist him with that, too.

But he knew that what he felt concerning her wasn't just a basic friendship. Maybe it was best friends. Only god could tell.

"Oi, Kise, incoming!" A voice yelled. Kise abruptly caught a ball, out of pure reflex rather than anticipation. "Watch it, will ya?"

"S-Sorry, senpai!" He grinned and passed the ball back.

"Nn… Sorry won't cut it, next time!" He growled. They continued with their practice.

The sound of a whistle echoed across the gym. "Alright, boys! Bring it in!" The boys half-placed half-threw the balls back in the cart and lined up to hear what the coach had to say.

"The strings and team will be announced on the notice board tomorrow. All we need now is a manager…" he murmured.

"Manager? If that's true, can I make a suggestion?" Kise asked politely.

* * *

"Sorry for the wait!" The blonde was walking down the school path to meet up with Kyou.

"It wasn't a problem. Basketball, I guess?" She asked knowingly.

"Yeah. I missed so many passes today!"

"If that's so, what's on your mind?"

There really was no hiding from this girl. She didn't even have to see his facial expression.

"N-Nothing, just a bunch of little thoughts." He grinned.

"I'll wait until you want to tell me, then." She said, knowing his lie. Oh, she was good.

"Anyway, I want to visit Kurokocchi! I heard he went to Seirin!" Kise grinned.

"Kuroko-san?" She asked. "What's gotten your interest in him?"

"I think he'd be really good with the team!"

"He's not going to join because you asked him to, Kise-san."

"Nn, can't you at least call me Ryota? Any suffix? I mean, we're friends after all." It bewildered him that he had even asked that question. Or of why he was so intent on having her call him Ryota.

* * *

After arriving at Seirin, they were bombarded by a flock of girls—Kise's fans.

"Uh, I didn't mean for this to happen." Kise said, as he finished signing an autograph for one of his fans.

"That's…" Hyuuga Junpei muttered.

_ What is a Generation of Miracles Member, Kise Ryota, doing here?_ Aida Riko asked herself.

"Um, really sorry… do you think you could wait just five minutes?" Kise asked.

After the prolonged minutes were over and every girl had filed out, the blonde walked towards the Seirin team.

"WH-What're you doing here?" Hyuuga asked.

"I heard we were versing Seirin for our next match, so I remembered Kurokocchi went there, so I thought I'd say hi. We were the best of friends in middle school."

"Not more than anyone else." Kuroko replied calmly.

"You're so mean!" Kise cried jokingly.

"…Kise-san?" A girl poked her head through the door. It was undoubtedly… Kyou.

"Kanna-ch—" Kuroko sounded as though he were to give Kyou a suffix.

"It's nice seeing you, Kuroko-san. Please, call me Kyou."

"I'm not sure if that's okay, Kyou-chan."

_Did Kuroko just say "-chan"?_ Kagami asked. He hadn't heard Kuroko address anyone with the suffix -chan. Then again, it was only natural, really.

"It's fine, ain't it? I said it's okay. I prefer it rather than Kanna." She smiled.

"Alright."

"Kise Ryouta, though he started basketball in his second year of Middle School, his exceptional physical ability and sense got him on the Teiko Team as a regular in a heartbeat. While he has less experience than the other four, he's a rapidly improving all-rounder." One of the Seiring guys read from the Teiko magazine.

"Er, that article exaggerated quite a bit..." Kise claimed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm glad to be called part of the Generation of Miracles, but I'm the worst of the bunch. They bullied me and Kurokocchi for it all the time."

"That never happened to me." Kuroko claimed tonelessly.

"What, it was just me?!" Kaijo's small forward cried, before looking to the side and seeing a ball come towards him. He quickly put his hand up to stop it. "Oww, what was that for?"

"Kagami!" A chorus of yells from Seirin towards the dark redhead came.

"Sorry for interrupting your little reunion, but don't tell me you came all the way here just to greet us. Why don't you play with me a little, pretty boy?" Kagami asked, beckoning Kise.

"Huh? I don't know if I'm ready." Kise said hesitantly. "Alright, let's do this! As thanks for showing me something good."

"This might be bad." Kuroko said, having everyone turn to him, during the boys' game. "When Kise-kun sees a play, he can make it his own in an instant."

"Wha...?!" Seirin's coach muttered. _On top of that, this... you can't call something of that level an imitation! He perfectly made it his own!_

_ Don't screw with me! That's the one I did earlier, but... you're kidding, right?!_ Kagami yelled in his mind, reaching to jump at a quick pace.

"Whoa, Kagami is awesome too! He reacted in time?!" His teammates yelled, but in that instant...

The ball was slammed inside the hoop. His cut and power were superior to Kagami's.

"This is... the generation of Miracles... Kuroko, isn't your friend way too incredible?!" Mitobe asked.

"I don't know that person." Kuroko claimed calmly. "Honestly, I was thinking earlier as well. But, tven though I haven't met him in just a few months, the abilities of the Generation of Miracles are evolving at a much higher pace than I expected!"

"Hmm, but well... you know... letting that kind of occasion go... I can't go back after just a greeting after all. Please give me Kurokocchi. Come to our school. Let's play basketball together again." Kise claimed.

"What?!" The Seirin team yelled simultaneously.

"I'm serious, I respect you a lot, Kurokocchi! You're just wasting your talent in this place. So, how about it?" Kise grinned.

"I am honored that you think about me this way. However, I humbly have to refuse that proposal."

"Doesn't that sound weird, in that context?!" Kise yelled. "On top of that, it's not like you! Wasn't winning everything for you? Why didn't you go to a stronger school?"

"My thinking has changed since that time. More importantly, I already made a promise with Kagami-kun. A promise to defeat the Generation of Miracles." Kuroko claimed.

"It's not like you after all, saying those kind of jokes." Kise said.

Kagami laughed in grudging respect. _So this is the Generation of Miracles... They're amazing, seriously... He wiped the floor with me, and he's saying there's still four stronger guys?! "_Damn, what the hell... don't go stealing my lines Kuroko."

"The fact that I am no good with jokes has not changed. I'm serious." Kuroko said.

"Kise-kun, we should go." Kyou said, finally speaking up.

"Oi, who's that dude?" Kagami said.

"That's a very rude way to address someone." Kyou said calmly. "Also, I'm a girl."

"... Wait, what?! Then... then, why do you use 'boku'*?!" The Tiger yelled.

"It's just a habit. Also, my name is Kanna Kyou. Please call me Kyou. Nice to meet you." Kyou gave a polite bow.

_It's true that if you look even a bit closer, you can obviously tell she's a girl, but still... she's wearing a boy's school uniform and uses 'boku'...And just what's her relationship with them? _"I'm Kagami Taiga."

"It was nice meeting you." Kyou said with her uninterested expression, and left. "Kise-san, I don't think there's any reason to stay and argue with them further. Nothing will change Kuroko-san's mind. Let's go, please."

"E-Eh? Kannacchi..."

"Kyou."

"Kyoucchi, I really do want Kurokocchi on our team..."

"Well, if you ever change your mind, by some strange chance..." She pulled on the smallest smile. "Please come to Kaijo."

Kise felt the smallest, minor bit of jealousy for the Phantom Member. She never smiled. Never. Even if it was only a small grin-like smile, it was still really gentle.

"Fine, let's just hurry up then!" He said, with a slight rushed tone.

"It was nice seeing you again, Kuroko-sa—Kise-san?" She asked questioningly as the blonde dragged her away.

"Let's goo, let's go..."

"Kuroko, who was she?" Kagami asked.

"That was Kanna Kyou, Teiko's former secondary manager and trainer... and, also, member." Kuroko said.

"M-Member?! But she's a girl!" Kagami yelled.

"It's a long story, so I'll tell you later." The Shadow claimed.

"What's so special about her, if she had that much going?"

"Kyou-chan has a special ability." Kuroko claimed. "She has Total Recall."

"'Total Recall.'" Kagami rephrased, clearly not grasping the understanding of it. "What's that?"

"It's almost like a photographic memory, but a bit emphasized. It's not just pictures she can memorize, but every other thing in the scene." Kuroko claimed. "There is one weakness, though."

* * *

"Kyoucchi, what's wrong?" Kise said, trying to see what was on her iPod on the train home.

She quickly shut it before he was able to view it. "That's a secret." She said.

"Huh?! So you admit something's wrong?" Kise asked.

"Not at all, it's just... never mind." Kyou said, closing the Newspaper Article that was on her iPod.

* * *

"Lastly... the one thing that's the strangest about Kyou... Even in our Teiko days, or as long as anyone knew her... Her eyes always had appeared with the same dead look." Kuroko finished.

* * *

**Yes. I've been watching Basketball Anime lately. Get over it.**

**Umm, well, that was actually not that bad. I actually made a messy planner for this one, unlike my other ones where there's no planning whatsoever. Sort of like Seirin's run-and-gun.**

**(1): 'boku' is a male way to refer to oneself, along with 'ore'. Girls usually use 'watashi' (I) or 'atashi' (I) or 'atashi wa' (I am).**

**Kyou looks really masculine (Kyou is a male and female name), but has obvious feminine features. It's just the clothes she wear that make her look male, as you can't see all of her hair due to her hat and she wears a jacket a lot.**

**For those wondering, she did know all the Generations of Miracles for a long time before this. If I don't explain this in the story, then I'll probably make a fanfic prologue or backstory to this.**

**Total Recall is photographic memory.**

**I hope to see ya'll for next chapter~!**

**-Music Illusion**


	2. Chapter 2

**Guilty Innocence**

**Chapter Two: I Don't Want to Run Away From That 'Me'**

* * *

"Kanna-san, would you like to be Kaijo basketball team's manager?" Coach Takeuchi had approached the taciturn girl while she was walking home with Kise Ryota.

"Hm? What's this all of a sudden?" She turned. She couldn't say she didn't expect it.

"I think your skill and photographic memory would come in handy for this match." He claimed. During this time, the girl looked up towards the tall blonde next to her. He told him.

"Even so, I must politely decline your offer." She gave a small bow.

"E-Eh?! B-b-but... K-Kyoucchi, why?" Kise gave a whine.

"I'll have to think it over, at the very least. I'll give my response to you on Monday, before your practice match against Seirin. Is that alright?" Kyou said. Takeuchi nodded in agreement.

"I suppose that's fine." He said, and left.

"Kyoucchi, why didn't you accept the offer?" Kise asked. "It really wasn't like you..."

"To be honest, I can't." Kyou replied. "That 'weakness' isn't getting any better."

"'weakness'...? Oh, you mean... the fact that you can only process a limited amount of information?" Kise asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Side effects don't look too good either, so, I might not be able to..."

"Then don't!" Kise yelled suddenly. "If it's going to hurt Kyoucchi, then you shouldn't—!"

"It's okay." She said.

"It's not." He said.

"Fine, I won't join, then." She said.

"But..." He muttered quietly.

"Either way, it's a lose-lose situation, right? So I have to make a decision." She said.

"No. You shouldn't." He said.

* * *

Over the weekend, Kyou went out shopping alone. She looked at her iPod for a few moments, and then at the contacts.

Kuroko, Akashi, Kise, Aomine, Murasakibara and Midorima were all there. Quickly, a buzz eating through her pocket notified her that she had just received a message on her iPod. She pulled it out of her pocket to look at it.

'From: Kise Ryouta

To: Kanna Kyou

Hi Kyoucchi, I'm at a shoot right now! I'm really bored, so maybe we could hang out after!'

She sent back:

'From: Kanna Kyou

To: Kise Ryouta

Hey. Yeah, that sounds fine. I'm next to the mall., when you're done.'

She closed her iPod, and put it in her pocket. She sighed. This day was really boring, too.

"Hey, Satsuki! What's so...?" A male voice called behind her. She turned to see pink. A sakura-colored pink, that smelled familiarly like the tree, as well. A girl was hugging her.

"Kyou-chan! It's been so long! Where did you go?" Momoi looked at her happily.

"Hello to you too, Momoi-san." Kyou replied.

Is Satsuki hugging a dude? No... wait... The power forward walked closer. "... Kyou...?"

"Oh. Aomine-san is with you, too." She claimed.

Aomine yawned. "It's just you. Let's get going, Satsuki."

"Dai-chan! You can't be so mean to Kyou-chan! After all, we haven't seen her in months! What are you doing so early in the morning?" The pinkhead asked.

"Umm... shopping?" She claimed.

"You shouldn't go by yourself. That's lonely! We'll go with you! Right, Dai-chan?" Momoi said.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He said.

* * *

While on the shopping spree, Momoi did most work. The girl had been darting between sections and rows showing them interesting clothes or miscellaneous items, while Aomine would nod with a small "Yeah." to everything she asked him, and Kyou would continuously be on her iPod.

Aomine, while being bored, sat next to Kyou. "What do you keep looking at on that thing?" He asked, snatching it away from her.

"The News? That's really boring." He said, and read it. "'_Three Casualties in Kids Gun Tragedy_'" He read out loud. "'_Police said the kid took the loaded gun to the neighbors' on Tuesday. Investigators said three kids were in the house when the gun went off accidentally while playing cowboys. Unfortunately, one bullet bounced of an iron vase and hit three kids. Two deaths and one injury. The survivor was'_—argh!" Aomine winced in pain and let go of the iPod. "The hell was that for?!"

"You shouldn't steal someone's property without their permission." She said, after hitting the back of his neck.

Though, it was strange.

"Liar." He said.

"Hm?"

"You're lying. You wouldn't hit someone just because they took a possession from you. Especially if it was me, because you knew I would give it back." He said.

"I don't want to... run away from that 'me'." Kyou said. Giving the digital screen one final stare, she shut it off and put it in her pocket. "Aomine-san, let's talk about this with everyone later. But before that... where's Momoi-san?"

"... Huh? Oh, Satsuki's probably just somewhere around here..."

"Hey, Kyou-chan, what do you think of this?" She said, holding up an outfit.

"It looks nice." She said with a small smile.

"Great! It's yours, then!" She grinned. "You have to wear it, too!"

"Wait, what?" Kyou sweat dropped.

"Yep! Today, just today, you're going to look like a real girl!" The pinkette said, threw the clothes in the changing room stall along with Kyou, shut the door, and wait outside. "Tell us when you're done!"

After a while, she came out of the dressing room. It was a stylish two-layer sweater and a skirt.

"Kyaa! Kyou-chan, you're really cute when you try!" Momoi said. "What do you think, Dai-chan?"

"Mm... still flat as hell, but not bad. I didn't think you could look female."

"Dai-chan, that's too mean! Here, if you had to say whether she looked cute or ugly, what would you say?" Momoi grinned teasingly.

The power forward quickly turned away. "I guess I would say cute, if there's no choice."

"Dai-chan, it's okay! You know Kyou-chan doesn't think like that! Isn't that right, Ky—huh?" She turned to see Kyou turning away.

This was new.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Aomine asked.

"It's nothing..." She said quietly. She sighed, and seemed to return to normal. "Let's continue, then?"

* * *

After a few more hours of jostling and moving from one store to another, as though working bees in a hive, they stopped.

"Oi, Satsuki. We should start heading home." Aomine claimed.

"Ehh?! Why so…?!" She yelled.

"Let's just say… I didn't really plan for today to be a full shopping-spree day." He said, half groaning. "It wasn't that bad to see Kyou around here, though."

"Mm~, well, let's go then, Dai-chan! It was really fun seeing you, Kyou! Give me a text sometime." She smiled.

"Sure." Kyou nodded, and the two left.

Not even a breath after they were out of sight, a voice could be heard behind her. "…Kyou…cchi?"

She turned. Surely enough, in place of the voice was the cheery blonde model we all knew.

"Oh, Kise-san." She claimed.

"Ahh!" He gave her a large, friendly hug. "Kyoucchi, you're so cute in that!" He said happily.

"Oh. I-Is that so." Her face was the least bit flushed.

"Huh? Kyoucchi, what's wrong?" He asked worriedly, bending down a bit to see her properly.

"N-Nothing at all. It's nothing, really." She claimed, not making eye contact with him.

"Could it be… that you're not used to receiving compliments?" Kise asked.

"Tha-That's not…!" She half yelled at him.

"Looks like I got it! Kyoucchi's embarrassed!" For some reason, seeing some emotion from the usually expressionless girl made it even more… cute, to Kise Ryota.

Sadly, she very quickly reverted to her usual state. "Anyway, Kise, what's with your outfit, as well." She asked, eye-gesturing to Kise's somewhat more stylish outfit.

"Ah, this? I just came back from the shoot, actually…" he said.

"Well, would you like to go inside?" She pointed to the mall entrance.

Just then, Kise got a funny idea. "You're really cute, Kyoucchi." He claimed.

Her face immediately changed as red as stop sign near them. "What was that for?" She asked.

He grinned. "It's just that seeing an embarrassed Kyoucchi is really interesting!"

She sighed with embarrassed annoyance. He had found her weakness.

"Well, let's just go already." She said hurriedly, as the two walked inside the mall.

* * *

The comments received in the store were repetitive. It was either, "is that Kise Ryota and his girlfriend?", "You two make a really cute couple!", or "I didn't know Kise Ryota was dating!" In which she'd say with her calm expression, "We're not dating." The shock it gave to whoever made the comment was instantaneous. Almost comedic, actually.

"Hey, guess what?" He said while they were walking.

"Yes? What is it?" She asked, turning around. He held up a small silver bracelet with a heart chain attached to it.

"It's to Kyoucchi." He said with a smile.

"You shouldn't have bought me anything." She said.

"Ahh? Why not?" He asked. "Remember the basketball you got me for my birthday? I didn't get anything for yours. So this is your birthday present from three years ago, I guess!" He grinned.

"It's rude to decline a gift, so I'll take it, I suppose." She said. "Thank you."

* * *

While they were walking home, they came across a basketball court, with two people playing.

"Is that… Kuroko-san?" Kyou said, staring at the court. The enumeration of echoes that retaliated from the rubber to asphalt came off.

"It's Kurokocchi and Kagami." The blonde said.

"Let's pay them a visit." She said.

"Let's not—hey, Kyoucchi—!" He said, and began to run off after her, who had started walking towards the court already.

"Kagami-san. Kuroko-san." A voice called behind them. The two boys turned.

"Hey, it's that guy—whoa." Kagami stopped. There was no mistaking it today. It was a girl in front of him. She didn't even so much as resemble a guy. "You look… feminine."

Kuroko simply nodded. "Don't tell me… you're on a date with Kise-kun?" He said, pointing to the blonde who had appeared next to her.

"Ehh? K-Kurokocchi, you know Kyoucchi and I aren't like that!" Kise said, waving his hands frantically.

"Could've fooled me," Kagami muttered.

"We just came to say hello. We'll be leaving now." Kyou gave a bow.

"Before that, Kise-kun, may I talk to you?" The Shadow of Seirin asked.

"Huh? Kurokocchi…?" Kise asked hesitantly, as the two walked off court and began to talk just out of hearing range.

* * *

"Kise-kun." Kuroko asked the blonde.

"Kurokocchi, what is it? Now's not the best of times, after all…" Kise said, darting his eyes towards Kanna and Kagami.

"This is a very important matter." Kuroko said.

Seeing that Kise was making no attempt to even try to pay attention, Kuroko tapped his shoulder. "If she's going to distract you in games, too, then that won't be a good thing."

"Eh-? Kurokocchi, that's not—"

"Kise-kun, do you like Kyou-chan?" Kuroko asked.

Kaijo's Ace's eyes widened. "Wh-What makes you think that? Kurokocchi, this really isn't like you!"

"Kise-kun, if you continue avoiding the question, I'll have to assume it's a yes." Kuroko claimed.

"So basically, it's a lose-lose situation? If I say yes, I like her and if I say no, I hate her?" He asked.

"I never said anything about hate." Kuroko said. "Do you like Kyou-chan?"

Kise stayed silent.

"So you do—"

"I don't know." Kise said. "I don't know whether I like her or not."

"Then, Kise-kun, please decide. And when you do, please tell me." Kuroko gave a polite bow. "Well, you don't want to keep her waiting, correct? Let's go."

The two walked back into the court.

"—I'd love to, but I'm wearing a skirt, so…" The girl said.

"That shouldn't matter! You were one of Teiko's regulars, so you should be at least halfway decent…!" Kagami said.

"Hey, hey. Shouldn't go picking on girls to play basketball now, should you. Besides, if we had a two-on-two, you'd have to tell everyone you were beat by a girl." Kise claimed.

"I could beat her!" Kagami yelled.

"One on one? No doubt about it." Kise said.

"Kyou-chan's specialty was stealing. So it would be of use really, since there are only two people. She was fast enough to keep up with my passes, but she's not really good at anything else." Kuroko spoke up right next to Kagami, startling him.

"Will you stop coming out of nowhere?!" He yelled angrily.

"Let's go, Kyoucchi…" Kise said, clearly unfocused.

"Kise… san…?" Kyou tilted her head. The blonde was being strange. What exactly did Kuroko talk to him about? The more she tried to fully grasp the situation, the less she understood. She quickened her pace to keep up with him as he was leaving.

"It was fun seeing you again, Kuroko-san, Kagami-san!" She called before walking off.

"What was all that about?" Kagami asked the Phantom member.

"I was helping Kise-kun in realizing some things." He said solemnly.

* * *

Kise stayed silent during the walk to the train. He was also quiet during the tran ride home. It was unlike him.

During those times where they sat on the old leather seats with city lights passing through the window where they were on. It wasn't too late, but being spring, it had been six o'clock and yet darker than most nights.

_Do I seriously love Kyoucchi?_ He asked himself. He looked at her. She seemed to be falling asleep. They had missed the earlier train ride home by talking to Kuroko and Kagami, so this one was much later.

He pulled her arm so she leaned onto a position where she could lie on his shoulder. This surprised her slightly.

"It's really fine, if you're tired. Go to sleep. I'll wake you up when we get there." He said firmly. Having no right to refuse, considering the fact that she had already been nodding off, she fell asleep almost instantly.

And the last thoughts on Kise Ryota's mind that day were the words _Do I, seriously?_

* * *

**A/N: Whoaa~ That was unexpectedly different than I expected.**

**Unexpectedly expected. Huh.**

**Sorry.**

**Anyway, it's seven pages, which makes it fourteen pages all-in-all! I still consider it unexpectedly short, however, so I should try to improve. Unless you guys are against it.**

**... When you're totally talking to yourself...**

**Anyway, I hope you like it! I won't reveal any spoilers so far, but it sort of looks like it's leaning towards a KisexOC story. I guess that would work, but nothing's 100% decided.**

**Yeah, for someone who planned for once I really suck at planning, did I tell you that?**

**My stories might not be daily, because I _do _have other things, for your information.**

**But, thanks for the one helper I got! I hope you enjoy this story.**


	3. Chapter 3

Guilty Innocence

Chapter Three: Your Weakness is Him, After All...

* * *

"Kyoucchi's back to her usual image…" Kise said at school the next day.

"You look as male as ever." Kasamatsu said with a sigh.

"Oh, yeah! Today's our match against Seirin, won't you at least come?" Kise asked the black-haired girl with pleading eyes.

"Huh? What are you saying? She's the manager. Of course she's going to be there." The black-haired boy said. Kyou winced.

"Wh-What?! Kyoucchi, you can't!" He yelled.

"Quit yelling, stupid!" Kise received a jab in the side. "What's so wrong? Besides, you were the one who recommended her."

"That's because…" he muttered, then sighed. "Well, I guess there's no helping it now. Either way…" the blonde looked cautiously at Kyou.

"It's gonna be fine." She gave one of her smiles to both of them.

Kasamatsu turned away quickly.

"Kasamatsu-senpai, what's wrong?" She asked him.

"N-N-N-Nothing at all!" He yelled.

"Senpai has a hard time talking to girls." Kise said.

"Do not!" He hastily replied.

"Then why were you fine a few seconds ago?" She asked.

"Th-That's because… you kind of look like a guy." He said.

"So you admit that you have a hard time talking to girls?" Kyou asked with a slight grin.

"Wha—" he sighed. "Fine. Yeah. Whatever."

"Our game'll be starting in a bit, so… we're going to go, and… uh… go." Kise said.

"Kise… san?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.

Seemingly not hearing her, he walked away, in thought.

"Is it just me, or is Kise acting weird?" Kasamatsu asked Kyou, before noticing it slightly. "Wait a second…" he ran to catch up, leaving Kyou behind.

"I wonder what's wrong." She muttered calmly to herself before heading out in her respective direction.

* * *

"Kagami-kun, your eyes seem even worse than usual..." Seirin's Kuroko Tetsuya told Kagami.

"Shut up. I was so fired up, I couldn't sleep." He said, rubbing the back of his head and yawning out a bit of drowsiness leftover.

"Are you supposed to be a grade schooler before a field trip?" Kuroko asked him. Whether he was serious or not was impossible to tell.

"Hey! I'll be counting on you guys today!" They looked to see a familiar blonde affront them.

"Kise!" He shouted loudly.

"Since this place's so big, I came to greet you." He said, waving. "Kurokocchi~ Ever since you turned me down so easily... I've been crying to myself every night, geez... not a single girl has ever turned me down, you know?" He sighed.

"Would you stop saying things like that?" Kuroko asked.

"That's why, since Kurokocchi is willing to say that much about you, I'm a bit interested." Kise said, his nice grin turning into a cool smile. "I"m not really obsessed with the name 'Generation of Miracles', but... If you're willing to pick up a fight that much... even someone like me is no man to let that slide... sorry, but I'll have to really take you down."

"Of course!" Kagami grinned.

"Oh, we're here." Kise said, looking at the door.

"Oh! Wait... we're playing on a half court? They're already practicing on the other half? Isn't that backboard past the expiration date?" Riko Aida began looking at places and pointing out flaws.

"Ahh, you're there. Nice to meet you. We'll be playing on only this side of the court, you don't mind?" Takeuchi asked.

"Nice to meet you too. Also, err... what might you mean?" She asked.

"It's just like you see. Today's match is just a light warm-up for our team, but... the club members that won't play just won't see anything worth learning by just watching, so... in order not to waste their time, the other members are going to practice as usual. Although I say it's a warm-up, it's still our regular members. Please don't let yourselves defeated by triple the points." He said rather rudely.

Kise began to put on his uniform.

"Hm? Why are you putting on your jersey?! Kise, you won't play! Kanna agreed too." He yelled at him. "Even in our school, that gathers aces from all the middle schools, you're on a completely different level. It's already unfair as it is with just the other regulars playing... if you play too, it won't even be a match."

"Wha... I-It's alright, I'll still be on the bench!" Kise insisted. "If you just knock this guy off his pedestal, I'll probably play! Sorry if that sounds selfish, but... if you can't even make me play in this match, you have no right saying you want to take down the Generation of Miracles." He winked.

"Hey, Seirin! I'll show you the way to the locker room!" The Coach of Kaijou yelled.

"Please wait. It won't be long." Kuroko said.

"Err... excuse me. I think it'll be a bit impossible for a warm-up... because you won't be able to afford holding back." Riko said.

"What?" He glared at them. "Well then, we'll start the practice match between Seirin High and Kaijou High!" The members from each team lined up. "Um, I said we're starting. Seirin, could you have your fifth player on the court quickly?" He asked.

"There are five players." Kuroko said, surprising everyone.

"Uwahhh! Whoa, what the hell is this guy? Is he invisible, or what? A guy like that as a starting member...?!" One yelled.

"I didn't notice him when he was right in front of me... Such a gloomy guy... I guess that means we only have to take care of Number 10." They continued.

"Ridiculous. With all that big talk, I thought they were going to make more decent players play." The coach sighed.

"I wonder about that." Kise said, grinning. "Though, well... he might not be a decent one."

* * *

During the play, Kyou kept her eyes fixed on all the players at once. Kaijou was in possession, when suddenly, Kuroko slapped it out of Kasamatsu's hand. Halfway through the court, he passed it to Kagami, who proceeded to slam dunk it... along with ripping off the hoop itself.

"EHHHH!? He destroyed the goal?!"

"A bolt was completely rusted." Kyou said.

"Still, that's not normal!" They shouted.

"What now, Kuroko? Look at this. A hoop is bigger than I thought." Kagami said, holding it up.

"Sorry, it seems we have broken the net. Would you mind if we used the other half of the court?" Kuroko asked calmly.

"It's true that you've surprised him with that. It's the first time I've seen the coach make that kind of face!" Kise grinned cheerily.

"It's 'cause he kept looking down on us. Take that!" He claimed.

"Kagami-kun... How much... does a backboard cost?" Kuroko asked.

"Eh?! We've got to pay for it?" He asked.

* * *

"Kyoucchi, why'd you take me out of the match?!" Kise said. "It couldn't possibly have been because our strength was too high, right? So..."

"Why're you competing with Kuroko-san?" She asked him. He froze. Competing?

"It's a game, naturally! Of course I'd—" He began, but was quickly cut off.

"No, it's almost as though you're competing with just the two of them specifically." She said.

"W-Well, they're the biggest challenges on their team, of course, so..."

"No. Are you competing with Kuroko-san for something other than the game?" She asked with her usual expressionless face. It was impossible to tell if she really knew or not. "Kise-san, I'm worried about you. You've been rather distant lately."

"That's just because... Nn... I'll tell you later. I promise I won't obsess about it if you put me in the game!"

"Kise-san. I can't do that yet." She said.

"Why not?! The Coach should be perfectly fine with it!" He yelled.

"I want you to participate in this match as well, but I can't do that when you're like this." She shook her head.

Kise gritted his teeth. It was true. He wanted to beat Kuroko. In some sort of sense of self-righteousness, he felt that he would obtain something by beating him. "Kyoucchi, just this one, I really want to play."

"That's why—" Her voice was cut off. Kise didn't have his usual cool look. Or really angry. "I can't."

All of a sudden, it dawned on him. He wanted to play so badly because he wanted beat Kuroko to Kyou. Just a normal game, to prove that he really was better than thought. He… really wanted to win for Kyou. Of course, he wanted to win too.

"I get it." He muttered. Kyou turned. "What?"

"Kyoucchi, you're really amazing, so please let me play in the match." He asked.

Her thinking was off, due to the compliment. It might've been a bad decision, too, because she wouldn't be able to think straight for a small bit. "Kise-san? What was that for?". She attempted to sound calm, but she was speaking at a very fast pace.

"Kanna, are you going to let Kise play in the match?" He yelled at her.

"Please, Kyoucchi?" He asked once more, with a more determined look on his face.

"It's... fine. It's fine to let him play, sir!" She yelled. "Are you sure about it, though?"

"Positive." He grinned. "When have I let you down?"

"Well, what're you waiting for, then? Go." She said, nodding forward with a small smile on her face.

He really did like that smile.

* * *

"Let the game resume." The referee called as the Small Forward of Kaijou walked onto court, adjusting his wristbands.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Kise smirked.

"You're finally in," Kagami grinned.

"You're way too intense for a model when you're on." Hyuuga claimed.

"It's not just for show." Kuroko injected.

There were loud screams coming from the doorway. Turning, there was a batch of Kise fangirls.

"Ahh! It's Kise-kun!" They yelled. "He's so hot!"

"Thanks for coming!" Kise called, waving to them.

"Quit waving, or I'll kick you!" Kasamatsu said while kicking him.

"Oww, you already kicked me, Kasamatsu-senpai…" he said, rubbing his back.

"Do you understand what's going on, Kise?" Kasamatsu asked. "Who's that number 10 over there?"

"Number 10? Oh, that's Kagami." He said, turning to see. "You should ask Kyoucchi, she has a lot of information on them."

"Kagami? Never heard of him." Kasamatsu said.

"Forget about him, the guy who stole the ball, Number 11, he's my teammate from Teiko, Kurokocchi. Isn't he amazing? Right? Right?" Kise started.

"Why are you so happy?" He asked, punching Kise once again. "Anyway, they gave us quite the greeting. It'd be rude if we didn't return the favor." Kasamatsu said, causing Kise to grin.

* * *

Kaijou's Point Guard quickly passed to The Small Forward, who preceded to dunk it... the exact same way Kagami had. "Here comes our greeting." The backboard shook with the force of the dunk. It had more power than Kagami's, but the backboard withstood it's defense, leaving just a slight moan from the stress on it.

"Moron, you should've broken it like them!" Kasamatsu yelled, and kicked the blonde.

"Ow, sorry!" He said. He then turned to Kagami. "I can't really do as such with the girls, but in basketball, I never forget to return a favor."

"Fine!" The tiger yelled loudly. "Kuroko, the ball!"

The Phantom Man used his tap pass to give the ball to Kagami, who proceeded to dunk it once again.

After a few more back-and-fourths, not even five minutes into the game, the scoreboard displayed 17-16 points, with Kaijou leading.

So far, all of the plays done can't do anything against the offense. This really is an intense play. No matter how hard Kagami-san gets, Kise-san can give it back with equal or double power... Kyou narrated. With the pace they're playing at now, things won't change. More so than that, Kise-san will only continue.

Kagami attempted a fadeaway by dribbling, cutting and then shooting. However, Kise jumped high enough to be able to touch the ball, forcing it to miss. After catching the rebound, they passed to Kise who successfully did what Kagami didn't, with greater effect.

"Captain," Kuroko asked, suddenly appearing next to Hyuuga. "I would like to request a time-out."

"WAH!" He yelled in shock, as Kuroko's presence became known. "Wait, why are you asking me?!"

"The pace we're playing at now isn't good for our bodies. Also, if we don't get Kagami to cool down his head... If Kagami-kun keeps getting angry and challenging him, at this rate... Kise-kun will answer with more strength... we will only keep chasing after them while the situation gets worse." He explained.

"Yeah, it seems so... the coach is thinking the same thing." Hyuuga claimed. He's more talkative than usual... could the situation be even worse than I thought?

"Timeout asked by Seirin!" the referee called.

* * *

"What is this mess, guys?!" The Coach scorned the team. "How many points do you plan to let them score? Defense, are you sleeping?"

"You say that, but the two freshmen are seriously troublesome. You're handling the opponent's Number 10 well, but... what the hell, that transparent guy isn't normal..." Kasamatsu said directed at both Kise and the Coach.

"Right, right? See, Kurokocchi is actually—" Kise was cut off by yet another slap from the abusive senior.

"What the hell are you acting all happy for, stupid?!"

"It'll be alright, probably." Kise claimed, his abused smile turned into a smirk. "The balance will be destroyed really soon. That's because... Kurokocchi has a weak point."

"Kuroko-san also can't continue too longer. It's high-paced, so he's starting to lose his efficiency already." Kyou said.

"Kurokocchi's misdirection isn't something that can be used the whole fourty minutes." Kise said.

"Misdi—what?" Kasamatsu asked.

"The number 11, invisible guy. He's not using magic or anything like that. To put it roughly, he's just turning attention away from himself. For an instant, even I'm able to do that. Watch this. Continuously look at me." Kise said, grabbed a ball, and threw it up in the air. Kasamatsu's eyes followed it. "See? You weren't looking anymore. Kurokocchi uses things like this together with his above average perception and makes himself disappear like an illusion, acting only as a relay for passes. But... even if he didn't do that, he's already hard to notice from the start, but... you see, if he uses it too much, you get used to it. It'll keep getting less and less effective." Kise said.

Whilst the players walked up to position, she called his name.

"Kise-san."

He turned. "See? Things are fine, Kyoucchi! So there's really, really no need to worry!" She bit her lip. She expected a whole lot out of the Phantom Man, but for him to go this far with only so much as two people... it was ridiculous. She couldn't pull him out now.

"Your weakness is him, after all..." She muttered under her breath.

"Huh?" He asked.

"Yeah... that's true... he could... but, that's not..." She continued rambling to herself. "Well, whatever. Go and get 'em, then."

"Yeah!"

* * *

When the game started again, Kaijou's team immediately noticed something.

"A box-and-one defense." Kyou said. "Everyone's aiming to stop Kise-san?"

While the play started, Kasamatsu shot a three-pointer, receiving praise from the team.

"Are you looking down on Kaijou's regulars? There's a limit to how naïve you can be."

During another play, Kagami tried to pass to Kuroko, but for the first time in the game, was blocked. The gap was slowly being increased bit by bit, but Kuroko's misdirection was running out.

After blocking another dunk by Kagami, the two jumped to the ground.

"Isn't it about time you admit it? As you are right now, it's ten years too early for you to challenge the Generation of Miracles. With the point difference right now, you won't be able to catch up. More than the team's formation or strategy, basketball is a sport about size. If you compare your players to ours, the difference in size and ability is too big. The only one that could have been able to face us is you, but I've pretty much seen the extent of your strength already. I'll acknowledge your potential, but you're still no match for me. No matter what kind of technique you use, as long as I see it, I'll pay you back twice as much immediately. No matter how much you struggle, you can't win against me. Just remember reality isn't such a sweet thing." Kise said.

Kagami burst out in laughter, shocking everyone. "Sorry, sorry. I was quite a bit happy, you know... it's been a while since I last met a guy who said something like that. This was usual in America. I just jumped to the conclusion when I came back to Japan. I regret that now. After all, life is all about challenges! Without strong opponents, living isn't fun. It's perfect if I can't win. I'm not done, either. The fight starts now! Don't you think it's too early for the cheesy talk? Thanks to that, I've understood your weak point. I guess I can understand why this guy didn't want to say it himself... you can do anything if you see it, right? Since he's not able to be seen, doing the same is impossible, right? No matter how much, you can't use this basketball style. So..."

The tall guy grasped Kuroko's head. "It's this guy, right?"

* * *

So they had figured it out. No matter what, they were a bit late. Kuroko's misdirection was already running out. So, of which, it would be useless. Along with the Phantom man himself. Kyou said. It was more than possible to finish their match with either winning or losing. The odds were even.

"Coach. This isn't going to work. I have a plan…" she began.

"Nonsense. This is going to be fine." He said.

* * *

The cooperation plays with Kuroko and Kagami heightened up until the score was 29-35 Seirin-Kaijou.

Kagami passed to Kuroko the same way he had before. Kise covered Kagami, but Kuroko instead passed to the Shooting Guard, who shot a perfect three.

"That Number 4 is rather good... don't drop your guard for the latter half. And that Number 10, Kagami... he's paired up with the Number 11 as a relay. That Number 10 was only getting passes, and now he's just throwing some as well, right? Does it change things that much?"

"It changes everything." Kyou said. "Until now, we were pretty much relying on Kuroko's passes and Kagami's one-on-one. But now that the passes are connecting, the options are multiplying. Their attack power will increase further. On top of that, Kise-san can't copy the movements of Kuroko-san. It's really a natural enemy. It may... just possibly, work."

"Kurokocchi..." Kise said, glaring at Seirin's Phantom.

"Kise-kun is strong. Neither I or Kagami-kun are a match for you. However, if we work together, the two of us can fight you." Kuroko explained.

"Kurokocchi changed after all... he wasn't playing that kind of basketball in Teikou. But... this can't stop me either. The one who'll win is me!" The Copycat exclaimed. "It's true I can't copy Kurokocchi's cooperation play, but... Kurokocchi can't do that for the whole 40 minutes... It'll only keep getting worse for you in the second half!"

"That isn't true either!" Kagami shouted. As Kise got the ball, he looked in front of him, and...

Kuroko was marking Kise.

"The weak point of Kise, who Kagami isn't even a match for, the weakest guy on the court for anything else than passes... Kuroko?!" Kyou asked.

* * *

"Damn, what's with that small point difference! Get back to the basics! Hands up! Screen out! Rebound! You're winning in height, so get all the rebounds!" The coach said. "Now, go!"

* * *

Kuroko was still marking Kise.

"I could have never dreamed of that... facing Kurokocchi this way..."

"Neither could I."

"I don't know what you're planning, but... it's impossible for you to stop me, Kurokocchi!" He yelled at Kuroko, while easily going around him. Kagami came back as a new man to defend Kise, when Kise suddenly found that the ball had been tipped out of his possession. A back tip, by the phantom man.

"It doesn't matter if you can copy whatever plays you see, since not letting you get through is our goal." Kagami said.

"Then what about if I don't get through? Nobody is forcing me to. With three pointers..." He started to take the form to shoot, and jumped, but Kagami smacked it out of his hand.

_Damn it, that means Kurokocchi is taking care of the ground and Kagami is covering him with his height. _Kise realized.

_ It's possible because the movement for a three-pointer takes time... these guys are really troublesome!_ Kasamatsu said in his head. _The one that let them get the flow is that Number 11. Even though he's the weakest guy on the field and shouldn't be able to do anything... I can't believe it!_

Kise immediately ran around while Seirin took the counterattack, and in the midst of it...

Kise had hit Kuroko in the head. Blood had began to cover the left side of his face.

"I'm alright. The match is still going on..." he fell down.

"It wasn't the end I hoped for, but it's over... without these freshmen playing together, there's only increasing the point difference left." Kasamatsu claimed, wiping beads of sweat off his chin with his jersey.

Kise looked back at Kuroko, feeling slight remorse. And he wasn't even able to look at Kyou. Even so, the game still had to go on. But he had a small nagging feeling. Kyou was right.

* * *

The score had only continued going up, with Kaijou maintaining it's lead. This was until they subbed Kuroko back in, something that was rash but wise. Without Kuroko, they knew they were digging a hole of their grave.

The score turned into 82-82. Seirin had finally caught up.

Kise's aura had a sudden change as he slam dunked it in, despite the team's efforts.

"I won't lose. Not to Kuroko, not to anyone." Kise said, a menacing glare on his face.

_This guy can get stronger? He even saw through Kuroko's pass?!_ Kagami exclaimed.

"Geez, I hope you're fired up, guys. Until the end of the match, it'll be just like in the first quarter... a struggle for points!" Hyuuga exclaimed.

* * *

From that point, it was an up-and-down point score. Kaijou was barely in the lead with 91-93, but kept switching on and off from even and off. Soon, it was 98-98.

The decisive moment. The final fifteen seconds. Kaijou was in possession, until Seirin stole the ball. The two ran across court, and Kagami passed to Kuroko right before they went to shoot.

One second.

_Kuroko can't shoot!_ Kise and Kyou thought this simultaneously.

Kuroko seemed to shoot the ball at the board, until they saw Kagami also jumping.

"No... it's an alleyoop!"

Kise jumped at the same time Kagami did. "I won't let you!" He shouted.

That's when he noticed. They jumped at the same time, but Kise was falling first. _How long is he going to stay in midair...?!_

"You won't copy anything anymore! Because..." Kagami began to yell.

_"If you just score a buzzer beater, it'll be alright." Kuroko had said._

"I'll end it with that!" Kagami said, dunking the ball for the final time as the clock struck zero. 100-98, Seirin's win.

* * *

**Whooooa~ That was long! Sorry readers, but nine pages, considering most of this and these lines are taken right from the story, which means I had half the normal time to do it, I think that it didn't turn out too bad! I could've gotten way more descriptive, but a small run-and-gun seems pretty cool.**

**No notes this time, so that's pretty good!**

**Also, if there are any complaints this time that I didn't put in the thoughts of Seirin's coach, this is due to this mainly focusing around Kyou's school, Kaijou. So naturally, it would show her thoughts more commonly than theirs. Generally this was a retelling done in a different perspective.**

**Thanks for reading, readers~ Review and Favourite.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Guilty Innocence  
Chapter 4: I feel… like we've hardly even known each other.**

* * *

"I… lost?" Kise stood in awe. Just those small words had a large impact of realization. He felt something warm trickle down his cheek. "For the first time in my life, I… lost. What…?" He realized it. He felt his face. He had been crying. Those were tears. More so, they were his.

"I know he must be frustrated, but… it's just a practice game, right?" The audience murmured in agreement.

"You idiot!" Kise was impaled by a sharp kick to the side of his back. "Quit crying, or I'll hit you. And you've got some balls to say you've 'never lost before'. You'd better add the word 'revenge' to that empty dictionary of yours!" Kasamatsu scolded Kise with his sharp tongue. Kise nodded.

"Line up! With a game 100-98, Seirin wins!" The referee called.

"Thank you for the game!" All the members said at once, bowing their heads.

* * *

After the match, Kise had sat on a bench. His tears… didn't seem to stop. It was a weird feeling.

"Kise-san." A voice called out behind him. It was definitely Kyou. But right now, he wasn't exactly in the mood. He shouldn't cry in front of a girl, after all. But, even though he tried to stop it, he really couldn't help himself from crying.

He noticed someone was sitting on the bench next to him. That was definitely Kyou, too. "Sorry…" he managed to hold back a sob. "Looks like I lost."

He felt something around his neck. Kyou was hugging him.

"Why are you sorry? You did great, Kise-san." She asked.

"I told you I'd win… and I really wanted to, too… so I lied to you… but… but, still… getting beat… doesn't feel good…" he muttered.

"Kise-san. You didn't lie to me. I knew that you may not have won." She said.

Although he was already crying to the point that he could no longer speak properly, she was still there by his side in generous failure. Not because she pitied him, but because she was his friend.

"Course, don't you hate me? After all I did and lied to you for…?" He said quietly.

"Huh? Of course not. I'll never hate you, Kise-san." She said.

He was so relieved, just from hearing the girl say 'I won't hate you'.

"Could you stay with me for a little bit?" He said, his voice cracking. She unwrapped her arms and sat down on the bench next to him.

Though he knew there would simply be an awkward silence between the two, only disrupted by the sounds of his sobs, even so, it was fine. It was fine, because all he wanted was for her to be there with him.

* * *

A bit after, Kise had gone to wash his face. She sat alone, waiting for him to come back.

"Is that… Kanna?" A voice called from behind her. She turned to see a familiar face with green hair and eyes, as well as glasses. He held a Kerosuke* in his hand, that was taped.

"Eh? Midorima-san?" Kyou tilted her head. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see Kise. I didn't expect to see you here, however." He said calmly. "You didn't tell any of us anything."

"What's my ranking today, Midorima-san?" She asked politely.

"Capricorn is in third. 'Hearing things in a cool attitude. Do not forget to say what you feel. May also meet an old friend.' Lucky item is Cookies. Lucky color is green." Shintarou said all-knowingly. "Tomorrow, let's go someplace together. I changed my phone number, so you don't have the right one."

"Is that so. Give me a call later. I'll record it there from my Caller ID." She said.

"Sure." He said, before turning and leaving.

* * *

Kise had been wetting his head under the fountain for a bit. Raising his head, he turned off the water.

"Your sign, Gemini, was supposed to have worst luck today, but… I didn't think you'd actually lose." Midorima said to the blonde.

"So you came to watch…" He said.

"Well, no matter who won, it was an unpleasant match either way. Even monkeys could have done that dunk festival. There was nothing left to fate." He said, straightening his glasses.

"We haven't seen each other since we were in Teikou, huh? It's been a while. I see you have the same habit of taping you finger. And dunks or whatever, it doesn't matter, right? As long as it goes in."

"That's why you're no good. Of course it'll go in if you're so close. The worth of a shot is decided by how far it's scored from. Don't you know the saying 'man proposes; God disposes'? First, do your best and then fate will decide how it will turn out. I am a man that proposes. I always carry with me the lucky item of the day, as my horoscope says. Today it's a frog toy. That's why my shots never miss!"

Kise had thought about that countless times, but he didn't understand the Greenhead's habit of bringing lucky items everywhere. To think that he was the Number One Shooter of the Generation of Miracles…

"Rather than me, shouldn't you be talking to Kurokocchi instead?" He asked.

"That's unnecessary. A B-type like me and an A-type like him have no compatibility. I acknowledge his style, maybe even respect him. But I won't accept going to a no-name school like Seirin. If he manages to win at that school considering both human effort and school choice, even if fate personally carves the way for him, he sickens me. It's just… they to picked for the district qualifier so I came on a whim, but… truth is, they're nothing special."

"You bastard, going forward without me when we got stuck in traffic… that was so embarrassing!" A voice yelled. It seemed to be a Shutoku student—maybe one of Midorima's friends?

"Well, today I just came to see the match. I apologize in advance—There's no way Shutoku will be fated to lose against Seirin. It's unfortunate, but you should give up on your revenge." The man with the frog toy said, addressing Kise once more, leaving Kise in silence.

* * *

"Ah, Kise-san. You're back." She said, as Kise walked over.

"Yeah, sorry! I really must've looked really pathetic back then." Kise grinned sheepishly.

"No, not at all. Did Midorima-san meet you?" Kyou asked. Kise's ears twitched with his name.

"You knew?" He asked wearily.

"I knew." She replied with a smile.

"Which means he talked to you, too?" He asked. She simply nodded in agreement. She put down her iPod.

"Yeah. I'd better be going, then."

"I'll try to see you next time I can." He said whilst she left.

He sat on the bench and looked next to him. There lay an iPod. One that Kyou had left.

"Oh, looks like she forgot it. I'll give it to her later…" he picked it up, while suddenly finding that it was still on. More so than that, it was still on what she used last.

"A newspaper article? 'Three Deaths in Kids' Gun Tragedy'? Didn't she read that already? Thinking about it, I never read the article fully… she probably has her reasons." He closed the web search, but before he locked the iPod, he received a call from an anonymous call.

"Hello?" He asked the caller.

"This isn't Kyou, is it." The voice said.

"Um, no. Who is this?" Kise asked. "I'll give all of your messages to Kyoucchi, if you'd like."

"Kyou… cchi…? Wait, Kise?!"

"… Midorimacchi? Ehh?! Why are you calling Kyoucchi? It's been years since you've contacted any of us!"

"I saw him—I mean her—today and said I would. Nothing more." Midorima said.

"You still call Kyoucchi a boy." Kise noticed.

"Wha—That's because… he did only tell us…"

"You said 'he' again." He claimed.

"Ah—Just shut up!" Midorima shouted while Kise laughed. "Anyway, why do you have Kyou's phone?"

"She left it here. I was going to go return it when you called." He claimed.

"Oh. I'll call back later then. Bye." He said.

"Ehh? Midorimacchi, you can't just hang u—" he was cut off by the sound of an ended call tone. "You're so mean!"

* * *

Kyou reached into her pocket on the walk home, only to find that the designated object wasn't there.

She let a small obscenity reach the wind. "Perfect." She muttered.

Though, surely Kise had it. The Internet page she had just gone on… hopefully he hadn't read it. He understands the word 'privacy'.

She then remembered what her lucky item of the day was. She looked around for a store, perhaps for the hell of it.

Speaking of it, she had walked around here before, hadn't she? Something felt different. There was no smiling. No laughing.

No—all those days had definitely disappeared. And, it was likely those too were something that would never return.

* * *

_She had fallen down. Every member of The future Generation of Miracles turned._

_"Uwah~, Kyoucchi, are you okay?" Kise asked, worried._

_"Are you stupid? Of course he'd—she'd be okay. Don't treat her differently after learning she's a girl, nanodayo**." Midorima said sternly. "It's not like falling __down can kill you, idiot."_

_"Hey, Midorimacchi, isn't that being too harsh! You're so mean!" Kise said while fake crying._

_"Yeah… but what if Kyou-chin wasn't fine? Like if she hit her head hard? That would do something. And she wouldn't be fine… right?" Murasakibara Atsushi __said with his pocky stick in his mouth._

_"You just got told, Shint—OW! Oi, Tetsu! What the hell?!" Aomine Daiki glared at the small sixth man._

_"I think that we shouldn't fight, but I think that Midorima-kun was just trying to avoid us from worrying." Kuroko said. The tall green-head did not turn._

_A certain redhead sighed. "You guys are hopeless." He reached down and held out his hand with a collected and gentle smile. "Kanna***, we should go."_

_"Thank you, Akashi-san." She said, taking it and getting up. The Teiko regulars walked down the street._

_"So, wanna go for Popsicles?" Aomine asked._

* * *

That was just a memory. Those days… would likely never return.

"Hmm? You… yeah. Definitely… you're Kyou-chin?" A lazy voice called out behind her, followed by a crunching noise.

She turned to see a huge man in front of her, eating a bag of chips.

"Murasakibara-san…?" She backed up to see him without having to look up. She nodded her head. "It's nice to see you again."

Uninterested eyes met the lazy ones.

"Where're you going?" He asked her.

"Actually, I was going to get cookies." She answered.

"Cookies? Then I'll come with… there's a good bakery around here, anyway…" he scarfed down another chip.

"Lead the way." She answered as the two started walking.

"Café Tachibana?" She said, looking up at the sign.

"Yeah… actually it's good for things other than baking too, but it's really good with cookies… it makes it soft and the chocolate in the chocolate chips blends with the dough with just the right ratio… it's really perfect. Oh, yeah… Kyou-chin, you still like chocolate, right?" He said calmly.

"Yeah. I love it." She said.

"Why cookies? This place sells a good hot chocolate… and doughnuts… I think that the chocolate-glazed ones are the best if chocolate's your favourite, but the best in the menu is the Lots o' Parfait… it's a real bargain, too, considering what it is… but either way, it's fine, since you want cookies… maybe next time…" Murasakibara said calmly.

"In other words, you want the Lots o' Parfait but you don't have the money for it." She said, looking at the board.

* * *

"Thanks Kyou-chin…" he said, holding the Lots o' Parfait.

"It really is cheap, considering that's what it is…" she looked at Murasakibara's food. It was a bucket of ice cream with icing, chocolate and strawberries. "I'm glad you got to enjoy it. It looks deli—hm?" She looked down to the spoon that was currently in her mouth.

"Don't worry, Kyou-chin… they gave me two." He said. "You sounded like you really wanted some, so… and you bought it for me." He removed the spoon from her mouth and handed it to her.

She stopped for a second, before sighing. Despite her having not so much as even implied she wanted some, he could tell.

"Oh yeah, Kyou-chin. What school did you go to?" He asked her.

"Kaijou. What about you?"

"Yosen," He replied. "'Course, you already know that, right?" He looked at his dessert. "So you're with Ki-chin? Shouldn't he be paying more attention to you?"

"Usually he does. It's just that something came up today, so he couldn't."

"Oh… did you meet any others?" He said.

"I met everyone except for… yeah." She didn't mention his name, but she had no need to. It wasn't like the purple-haired man couldn't tell. There was only one person whom she wouldn't say the name of.

"It's weird… Aka-chin was the person you were closest to, and now you're so distanced from him…" he said.

"That's not the Akashi-san I know. That was the other Akashi-san." She said grimly.

"I don't know too much about that… but I don't like it when you don't talk to him…" he said.

"I don't know. I don't even know anymore." She said. "Not just that, but I feel… like we've hardly even known each other…"

* * *

Kyou used the pay phone to call the number on her iPod.

"Hurry up though…" Murasakibara complained.

"Hello?" Kise's voice emitted through the device.

"Hey, Kise-san." She replied. "I'm glad you picked up my iPod."

"Yeah, of course!" He replied eagerly. "Hey, hey, Kyoucchi, where are you right now? I'll come pick you up."

"Ack. Um…" she looked over at Murasakibara. He tilted his head, as if saying 'something wrong?'

He walked over and took the phone from Kyou's hands.

"Hi, Ki-chin." He said nonchalantly.

"That… Murasakibaracchi?! Why are you with Kyoucchi…?" He said.

"Ehh? Oh. She was going to get sweets, so I came along… why?"

"No reason…" he said, sweat dropping. From the tall violet-haired man, such actions were to be expected.

"One sec." Murasakibara asked Kyou if he could talk to Ki-chin in private. Accepting this, the girl walked outside.

"Ki-chin, she just left…" he claimed.

"What—did you want to talk to me, or something?" He asked.

"Do you still like Kyou-chin?" He said with no outer expression.

"H-How can you ask that so calmly?" He grinned through the iPod. "W-Wait, how...?!"

"You liked Kyou-chin. If that's true still…" he said.

"Will everyone just stop talking about that?! What if I don't anymore?!" He groaned.

"You said 'anymore'." Murasakibara remarked.

"Ah…?" The blonde noticed his faulty immediately.

"It doesn't matter… I just wanted to fool around with Ki-chin, so it's fine…" he said. "That day, you said you like a girl that 'doesn't tie you down'****, so Kyou-chin is really like that."

"Murasakibaracchi, could I please talk to Kyoucchi now?" He said.

"Huh? Umm… okay." He turned to the blue-eyed girl. "Kyou-chin, Ki-chin wants to talk to you…" he called. She walked over, as he lowered the phone to her height.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"I'll be there in a bit." He said, and hung up.

* * *

When Kise came, there was an awkward silence. It was strange, having part of the Generations of Miracles there.

"Ki-chin," Teikou's former Center mentioned to the Small Forward. "Long time—"

"No see." Kise finished his sentence.

"Hey, hey. Let's not get too evil of an aura, guys. You'll attract attention." She said. Kise handed back her iPod.

"Sure. Let's go, Kyoucchi." He said.

"Yeah. It was nice seeing you today, Murasakibara-san."

"Nn… just seeing Ki-chan's face makes me want to crush him…" he said.

"Now. You can't do that, you know." She said.

"I can't be stupid in front of Kyoucchi. Aka-chin told everyone not to." He said.

Murasakibara turned around and left.

"Here's your iPod back." He handed the device to her.

"Thanks…" she muttered and put it in her pocket.

"Hey… what was up with that article you always read? I swear I didn't read it, but..." He asked.

"That's nothing. Don't ever do such." She replied, and the two finished the day in silence.

* * *

**Ahh, sorry it took so long. We meet another two members from Teikou's Middle School; Murasakibara-san and Midorima-san!**

**Notes:**

***(1): Kerosuke-Kerosuke is the name of the frog toy we see in Midorima's hands in that episode, and one of his trademark symbols. Not just that, but I think Midorima-san looks a bit like a frog, too.**

****(2): "nanodayo"-Midorima usually ends his sentences with "nanodayo" or "nodayo", even though it has nothing to do relatively with the subject. Sort of like Naruto's "dattebayo" or, if in the english dub, "Believe it!" Of course, Shintaro's not annoying as to say "Believe it."**

*****(3): "Kanna"- Akashi did not use suffix back then, and he also did not call her 'Kyou'.**

******(4): 'girl that doesn't tie you down'- This is a fact in the wikia. It tells what every Generations of Miracles guy likes in a girl. Coincidentally enough, I made this before finding this out but found it halfway through. I think it might be from the Character Bible.**

**I'll get the next one updated ASAP! See you guys in next chapter! Review, Favourite and Like, my bros! **


	5. Chapter 5

Guilty Innocence

Chapter Five: Thank You For Everything, Everyone

* * *

Kyou was relaxing in her room, staring up at the ceiling fan go around in a circle.

"Kanna, the door's for you!" Her mother yelled from downstairs.

_I wonder who that could be,_ she wondered right before she walked down the steps.

When she opened the door, there stood a familiar person. He had an arrogant grin on his face.

Her eyes immediately widened, but she hid it right away.

"Hello, Kyou." His heterochromatic eyes bored into her aqua ones.

"I don't know you," she insisted. "I know someone else."

"Kyou…" he asked wearily.

"Kanna?! Don't keep the door open, and don't keep him waiting! Go!" Her mother yelled from the inside.

Kyou quickly put on a sweater, a vest and her usual hat and walked outside.

"A girl should look like a girl." He said as she came out.

"Fine then, I'll be back in a moment." She said, turning inside quickly.

When she next came out, she was dressed in an outfit that looked very much like a uniform, but it was actually not. It had a sailor-styled top. The collar had a maroon-checkered pattern just as how the ribbon in her shirt appeared. She also wore a choker with a string knotted into a ribbon in it. Her outfit was mostly black, but there are also large parts with the color maroon. There were also small portions of the color white on the outfit. They appear off the sleeves and on the hem of the shirt. The skirt reached up to the middle of her thighs. It was printed as checkered with a maroon color. She wore black socks that went up to right below her knees. There were also small portions of white lace on it. The shoes that she was wearing was purely white.

"You look amazing when you try, Kyou." He said. She immediately blushed. "Hm? Still bad with compliments like that? Does anyone else know?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah, Kise-san found out…" she replied, darting her eyes away from the golden one as soon as they met.

"Oh. I see… Kyou." He replied, with a small smile.

* * *

"Well, what'd you want to talk to me about?" She asked. "After all, you dragged me out with a stranger."

"What do I keep telling you… I don't like to repeat myself, Kyou. There have always been two Akashi's." he claimed.

"I noticed." She said grimly.

He gave a strange look. "No, you didn't. The only one who could have possibly figured something was Shintaro."

"The look in your eyes changed sometimes. I didn't like it. But now those eyes have changed completely." She insisted.

"It was necessary to obtain victory." He claimed. "Onto the main point, what I wanted to tell you was—"

"I need to send a few messages, could you wait just a moment?" Kyou asked kindly.

"As long as you don't take too long." He said. She immediately sat down and whipped out her iPod.

'To: Kise Ryota; Midorima Shintaro; Kuroko Tetsuya; Murasakibara Atsushi; Aomine Daiki

From: Kanna Kyou

Please come to the park.'

* * *

Kise was practicing basketball in the early December of the month when he had received the text.

"The park?" He muttered these words to himself. Kyou had sent it, but why? And in such a cryptic message, too.

He saw who else had been put in the message. Those were all the members of the Generations of Miracles.

And, he couldn't just decline an offer like that.

* * *

Midorima was in a gymnasium with Takao.

"It's truly amazing, what Shin-chan can do." He gave a small grin.

Midorima then heard a sound coming from his pocket. The tri-tone that would ring when he got a message. Taking it out, he read the contents and who it was from and for.

"Kyou Kanna? Isn't she that girl who used to be in Teiko?" He asked. When Midorima turned his head, Takao was standing right next to him, reading the message.

"Hey—!?" He backed away.

"Either way, Shin-chan, you should go. From who it's sent to, all your former teammates will be there. See you later then!" He smiled and began to leave.

"Hey, I never said I was going!" He insisted.

"Eh? It's not something you can decline, is it?" After he received no response from Midorima, he continued to leave.

"Kyou, why now?" He asked.

* * *

Kuroko Tetsuya was walking with Kagami Taiga before receiving the message.

"Haha, and then I made an awesome slam dunk. Yeah, that was the first dunk I ever made." Kagami insisted with an arrogant grin.

Kuroko received a text on his phone just then. Opening it up, he observed the contents of the message.

"I'm sorry, Kagami-kun. I have to go somewhere right now." Without another word, when Kagami looked back, Kuroko had disappeared.

"What—where...?!" He narrowed his eyes, but the phantom man was nowhere in sight.

* * *

"And that's why Peppero sticks are worse than Pocky sticks." Murasakibara finished his long monologue concluding his point. It seemed as though Himuro preferred Pepero sticks rather than the Pocky ones.

Giving a grin with a drop of sweat, Himuro didn't quite understand. "I... guess."

Murasakibara felt a vibrate from his front left pocket. Pulling his phone out, he looked at his phone screen display the notification 'One new message!'

"Oh...? A message from Kyou-chin to everyone... I have to go, Muro-chin. I should be back later..." he said lazily.

"Sure, that's fine." He said in response as the violet headed male turned and left.

* * *

Aomine Daiki had finally gotten a break from Momoi Satsuki. Sighing in relief, he sat atop Touou's rooftop.

It was awfully quiet, but undoubtedly Momoi would find him here in just a little bit. He decided to enjoy it while he was capable of doing so.

His phone screen lit up, displaying the image 'One New Message' on the digital screen.

"Huh?" His initial thought was that it had been Momoi trying to contact him, but if she were to contact him, the least she would do was to call him rather than to text him. He picked up the phone and furrowed his eyebrows. "Kyou?"

* * *

Kyou shut her phone and faced Akashi. "Let's go to the park." She insisted.

"What? Why such a bold decision out of the blue?" He questioned.

"There's... some friends... I want to see." She said. Her eyes retained on the digital screen before her, as she typed something continuously.

Akashi's eyes showed a small sign of shock for a moment. Her heartbeat was faster, as was her breathing. Her expression was also slightly pained, through her best efforts to hide it. His Emperor Eye was all-knowing. Even the smallest details, he could notice.

"Kanna, if you're not feeling well, you should have said so from the start." He sighed in exasperation, before pausing for a moment. For some reason, that tone of voice had sounded exactly like... the other Akashi. The 'Captain'. And he knew she could tell, too. He had even called her 'Kanna'.

"Akashi-san, I'm fine. Please, I want to go." She stated again.

"Keep sounding like that and you'll be a broken record, Kyou. Very well; we'll go. But only for a limited amount of time." He claimed. "Let's go."

* * *

At the park, the one who had arrived first was Midorima, punctual as always. "If you're going to call us here, you'd better be on time, Kyou." He muttered.

Not soon after, the others had all assembled; Midorima, then Kuroko, then Kise, Murasakibara and lastly Aomine.

"It's unlike Kyou to be late." Kise said. The others nodded their heads in agreement.

"She probably just got held up; what's so wrong?" Aomine said.

The aura and tension in the air was thick. None of them would have come if the others called, with the sole exception of Akashi. No one dared to speak. Midorima glared at them all. Kise no longer had that deredere act, and had his cool look observing everyone without smiling. Kuroko remained with his poker face. Murasakibara seemed to be utilizing Kyou's uninterested look as he scarfed down his chips—one of the only noises that were made there. Aomine sighed.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," a voice called out behind them. However, the voice was not Kyou's. The voice belonged to someone much more familiar.

"No way—!" Kise exclaimed, turning around.

"Holy crap." Aomine said, surprised as well.

"Hm...? That's weird..." Murasakibara said lazily.

"He wasn't supposed to be..." Midorima grimaced.

"Kyou-chan. Akashi-kun." Kuroko said with a shocked expression on his face.

"Why are you two together?" Kise asked.

"Actually, I came to ask her something, when she asked for me to come to the park with her." Akashi said. "Besides the point, I'm not the one who called you here, so please don't base all your attention on me this time."

Seeing Kyou dressed in a feminine outfit was new for some of them, but still rare. Her breathing had worsened to the point where it was getting difficult to even take a gulp of air. She attempted to not let this show. And she hoped Akashi wouldn't reveal it to them.

"Kyou-chan? Are you... feeling alright?" Kuroko asked. He could tell she very well wasn't. It wasn't to the point where it was easily pointed out, but it was still possible to tell due to Kuroko's experience with the human gaze.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said. "I think that I... I just wanted to be with everyone here." She said.

"Kyou, that's unlike you..." Midorima stated. He pushed up his glasses. Now that Kuroko had pointed it out, even he could tell something was wrong. Not just with the statement, the prerequisite, the reason. There's no way Kyou would call them out unless she wanted something.

"Yes. I just wanted for us to talk in this park again like we used to, even if it was only once." She smiled lightly. Even that had seemed pained. "Is that alright...? Just this once..."

* * *

Kyou had kept seeing a horrible, unpleasant dream. A dream where she had disappeared right in front of their eyes. She had seen this dream again and again. This was all a dream she had seen yesterday.

She wondered how many times it had been that they had talked in this park as well. This may have been the first time for them, but she didn't how many times it had been for her. She had talked about _that_ with them before too. She talked to them about it many times. And every single time, they believed her. They seriously worried about it. But every time, she would always disappear in the end. Every time she told them about it, they would worry and make a sad face.

That was why she had decided that she wouldn't tell them. They didn't need to worry.  
More so, she'd come to sort of like these moments where they would talk in the park. It was alright as long as she could hear them talk. Though, because they would talk about the same thing each time, she had already remembered every character and every phrase word for word. Even so, it was fine. It was fine, so all she wanted was for them to talk.

During the moments where she could listen to their voices, she felt at ease because she got to hear only their voices.

She had predicted everything that would happen, no matter which option she chose. She knew that this, out of all, would most likely be the final moment they would be able to talk in the park altogether like this. The camaraderie was non-existent at this point, but everyone still had gotten along like they had before. Everyone could tell that this was what Kyou had wished for and wanted. This was what she was aiming for. Just once more, to be able to enjoy the sense of kindness they all had shared, even knowing that would never return.

But, even if they hadn't acted like this, she would have been fine with just having them here. Because, before she disappeared again, she wanted to see them together.

"Well, it's about time... so... I'll leave it at this. Thank you for everything, everyone." As she had thought, their faces were at first confused.

Akashi's eyes widened first. Huh, it was funny. It seemed as though not even the slightest movements could avoid his eyes. As soon as her eyes began to close, Kuroko's turn to become shocked appeared.

Akashi caught her while she fell, due to his reflexes, but everyone was upwardly surprised now. That was because Kyou had just collapsed.

* * *

They had laid her down on a park bench. They couldn't call an ambulance; for some reason, that didn't seem as though it were the best option. But they didn't know what was wrong with her. And the only one who would would be Kyou.

At the very least, her expression had calmed down. She no longer looked in pain or tired. Yet still, she would not wake up.

"What... happened...?" Kise had asked. He still couldn't fully comprehend the scene that lay out before his eyes.

"Today, Capricorn's horoscope was in last place..." Midorima said. "But to think that this was what would happen...?"

Suddenly, Kyou stirred.

"Kyoucchi? Kyoucchi, are you alright?" Kise asked. The girl slowly opened her eyes.

"Kanna, are you okay?" Akashi asked.

"D-Did Akashi just say 'Kanna'...?" Midorima pointed out.

Akashi turned and glared. "Accuse me of that again and I shall cut off your tongue. You must have misheard me."

The greenhead paused. He was sure he hadn't misheard it. That was most likely the original Akashi they had known. Putting it aside, there were more pressing matters at hand.

Kyou sat up and stretched. She seemed awfully casual regarding what had happened.

"Kyou? Are you okay?" Midorima asked.

"Huh?" In her mind, she was regarding what he had called her. Ignoring it, she decided to answer the question at hand. "A bit groggy, but... I think I'm alright." she shrugged.

She was way too comfortable. This was unlike Kyou.

"How do you feel?" Kise asked, making room for her to get up with.

"Actually, I feel great." She turned her head and beamed at the blonde.

They didn't know whether to run for the hills or duck in cover. Either Kyou had lost her mind or it was the end of the world. But that wasn't the case. Kyou was actually feeling cheerful. Looking around at everyone's stunned expressions, she asked, "What?"

Now that they looked at her, Kyou did seem happier and more lively than usual. Her eyes were bigger and brighter, as if they had never witnessed any sort of pain whatsoever. She looked so… spirited. That was the only way they could describe it.

"Did Kyou-chin hit her head while she was falling?" Murasakibara said lazily.

"That's impossible. Akashi-kun caught her." Tetsuya Kuroko said.

"Listen, listen. I dunno what's up with you guys, but you're sure acting strange." Yawning, she got up off the bench.

"Hey, are you very sure you're feeling alright?" Aomine asked with his eyebrow raised.

"Actually, yes. Better than ever, to be honest." She gave a smile.

"Why?" Kise asked.

"E-Eh…? Why is everyone looking at me like that…? Is there something wrong with me being happy, or something…?" Her cheerful expression faded slightly.

It was strange to see the girl with usually uninterested eyes be so expressive.

"Listen… I don't know what's wrong, but… if you can tell me, I'll be more than happy to listen!" She gave a sheepish smile while scratching her cheek.

The boys huddled up as they would occasionally before games.

"Kyoucchi isn't being normal." Kise claimed.

"She's no—you don't say, Kise." Midorima glared.

"Guys. Fighting isn't going to do anything here." Akashi claimed. For some reason, the atmosphere around him seemed to change at a startling pace.

"It's fine, ain't it? It's not like it's a bad thing that Kyou—ow!" He received a jab from the side due to Teiko's former Phantom Man.

"That's not the problem." Kuroko claimed.

"Let's observe the situation for now. From this point, we've filled Kyou's expectations. That means we can leave. Until my next command, I order you all to report anything unusual to me. Any changes you see in her, or anything strange that she says." Akashi said. "Do not tell her about her 'change' yet. Keep it secret for now."

After receiving a sign of understanding from all the males, the plan was set off.

"Kyou, we have to go now, so we'll see you later." Midorima said.

"Yep. We've got to… do… stuff." Aomine said.

"Will you guys stop calling me that?" She asked with an exasperated sigh.

"What do you mean? What's wrong?" Akashi asked.

"You keep calling me 'Kyou.'" She insisted.

"Do you not prefer us calling you so casually?" Akashi asked.

"No, no… that's fine… it's just that my name isn't Kyou, Seijurou-san*. It's Kanna. Hijiri Kanna." She finished.

* * *

**And voila! Here comes the storyline. Wha-bam!**

**(1)*: Notice how she calls Akashi "Seijurou-san", which uses his first name, but the suffix "-san" refers to a respectful way to regard someone. These factors sort of oxymoron each other, because in Japan, regarding someone by their first name could be a sign of disrespect. In other words, since they are friends, she regards him with respect but also seems to view him as a close friend.**

**I can't wait to write the next chapter, guys. I hope you really enjoy it.**


	6. Chapter 6

Guilty Innocence

Chapter Six: I Really Loved You.

* * *

"Hijiri... Kanna?" Midorima asked. Disregarding this, he quickly left leaving himself to his thoughts.

"Umm, okay. Yeah, I'll be going now." Aomine exhaled in a puff and left as well.

In time, everyone had left, leaving Kyou and Kise.

"K-Kyoucchi, are you really sure you're okay?" Kise asked.

"I won't listen to you until you call me 'Kanna'." She insisted, haughtily turning her head away.

"Then, Kannacchi?" He said. It felt different. In middle school, he would always call her that, but now that he had already accustomed himself to the name 'Kyoucchi', it was a completely different story.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Nn, what do I keep telling you? I feel great." She had a large grin on her face.

"But..." Kise was about to say something, but decided not to. "Okay, Kannachi. Want to go home, then?" He grinned.

"Yeah, that'd be fine."

* * *

Akashi did his research. Had the girl really tricked them all? He didn't understand it, for once.

But then he thought of what the girl had introduced herself as. "_It's Kanna. Hijiri Kanna."_

He had known her as a friend for a long time. Thus, he knew her mother had addressed herself as Hijiri Kohata. When he had asked Kyou about it, she said that her mother was married to her father but did not change her last name, thus her father's last name, Kanna, was passed down onto her.

Not to mention, when he had visited the girl's house, her mother proudly had said that Kyou had filled out her own high school application form, which would explain why the teachers as well as everyone else called her Kyou.

And her mother still called her Kanna.

He had come up with one conclusion; Kyou had lied. And now, she had forgotten.

Kyou never was actually Kyou, rather a girl named Hijiri Kanna. But why would she do something like that?

He researched the person 'Hijiri Kanna'. The immediate first thing that popped up was that newspaper article she would always read. His eyes widened slightly.

Just then, everything made sense. He had remembered what the 'weakness' of Total Recall was. This was a simple part of it. Since she could only store a limited amount of information, she has to delete information...

Deciding to take more time to think this over, Akashi relaxed. This was really a mystery, huh...

* * *

Kanna returned home and waved good-bye to Kise.

"Bye-bye then, Ryota-san! I'll see you at school tomorrow!"

_Ryota-san? I've been asking her to call me my first name for decades, but..._ He waved hesitantly as she closed the door and went inside.

"Haha, you go with one boy and come back with another, huh?" Her mother laughed.

"Eheh, don't think of it like that! We're all just friends!" She batted her hand away to dismiss the subject with a grin on her face. Her mother noticed immediately. Kohata walked up to Kanna and gave her a large hug.

"Mom...?" Kanna asked, confused.

"Kanna, don't blame yourself for that anymore." Her mother whispered.

"What are you talking about, mom?" Kanna raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing. I'm just happy." Kohata put the girl at arm distance and smiled. "Well, wash up and go to bed! You have school tomorrow!"

* * *

Kise felt a buzz through his pocket. He pulled out his phone, revealing an instant message group concerning the Generation of Miracles.

_Akashicchi: We'll take turns spending days with Kanna, but Kise will most likely have the most time. Continue until we've figured out everything. I expect daily reports from whoever has her on the day._

_Me: Yay!_

_Midorimacchi: Die._

_Me: What's that supposed to mean?! You're so mean, Midorimacchi!_

_Aominecchi: Whatever. Who goes first?_

_Akashicchi: I've organized it as Ryota, Shintaro, Tetsuya, Atsushi and then me. Any complaints are unacceptable._

_Murasakibaracch: Huh? What're you guys talking about?_

_Midorimacchi: Read before you ask anything._

_Murasakibaracchi: Ohh. Sounds ok with me._

_Kurokocchi: Me as well._

_Me: Whoa! Kurokocchi was in this?! He's invisible even in the chat!_

_Akashicchi: Ryota, Tetsuya was here the whole time._

_Me: Ehh?!_

_Akashicchi: Meeting adjourned._

_[Akashi Seijuro has logged off.]_

_Murasakibaracchi: Aka-chin left, so I'm going to go too. Bye byel._

_[Murasakibaracchi has logged off.]_

_[Midorimacchi has logged off.]_

_[Aominecchi has logged off.]_

_[Kurokocchi has logged off.]_

_Me: Guys...?_  
_Me: So mean!_

_Me: ..._

_[You have logged out of this conversation.]_

* * *

Kise woke up the next day with a thought on his mind: He'd have the whole day with Kyou.

While walking to school, he shook his head. That wasn't true. Today, he had the whole day with Kanna—not Kyou.

Waiting on a corner he passed by often waited a girl. She had Kaijou's female school outfit and was eating a box of pocky sticks.

"Hey, Ky—Kannacchi... Good morning!" He gave her a smile.

"Morning, Ryota-san!" She said, returning the smile.

"You're here early." Kise said.

"I am? Do you want me to be late next time?" She teased. "Either way, it's fine, right? Let's go~!" With that, Ky—no, Kanna, struck a heroic pose, finger pointed at Kise. Her enthusiasm was probably representative of every person when they had no sadness, but as she was having so much fun, he figured why would he point it out? It'd be... complicated... to explain exactly why he thought this.

"Haha, right?!" Her cheerfulness was slightly contagious, he noticed, as the two walked to school together.

* * *

"Oi, Kise! What are you..." Kasamatsu paused. At a faraway distance, the girl seemed like any other. But now, and a closer range, it was very clear that it was not. It was Kyou in the female uniform.

"K-K-Kyou...?" Kasamatsu stuttered. Now that it was very clearly shown about her gender, his habit began.

"Yes, yes? Is there something wrong?" She asked, rolling her eyes. "Kyou, again. How many times do I have to tell y'all!? It's Kanna; Kanna! You can address me as Kanna-chan or just Kanna if you don't want to use Hijiri, Kasamatsu-senpai. Honestly, Kyou's a really bad name. Kyou means misfortune, right*?"

Kasamatsu hid his line of eyesight under his forehead. He grabbed Kise by the collar without looking up and moved him to the side, keeping their backs turned from her.

"Kise, what the hell's up with Kyou?" He asked, glaring, as if Kise did something.

"Well... I was at the park with her and the rest of Teiko's team and she fainted and was like this so..." He shrugged.

"Wow, you're so descriptive. Wait—when were you with Teiko?! Never mind that, are you being legitimate?!" The Point Guard asked. From the look on Kise's face, he wasn't lying. "So, now she calls herself Hijiri Kanna. Maybe... amnesia?"

"No, no, 'cause she's still really smart and knows all of us, so if it was she'd only think like a middle schooler." He said.

"Maybe it just forgot a certain event? But that doesn't explain why she's calling herself Hijiri Kanna..."

Suddenly, Kise realized it. "So in the end... but... why...?" Kise muttered.

Kasamatsu jabbed his side. "Quit talking under your breath. I can't hear you."

"Ow! Sorry, it's... nothing." He claimed quickly.

Kasamatsu cocked an eyebrow. "Well, can she still do basketball like this?"

"Well, um, she was born with Total Recall so she should be." He replied.

"Her basketball skill?"

"No idea."

Kasamatsu facepalmed with a sweatdrop combo. "So, how am I supposed to tell coach all this?"

"Why do you have to?" The small forward asked.

"First off is because I'm the Captain, stupid. Second is that she might not be of _use_ anymore."

"So... you're going to kick her off?"

"If she's useless, and doesn't even know the rules, yeah." He frowned. "Isn't that obvious? Even more, it's unlike you to be this concerned over someone."

"So, as long as she knows all the basic rules of basketball by our next game, it's fine?" He asked eagerly.

"I... guess." He said. "Whatever, it's not my problem anymore."

With that, the Small Forward ran up to Kanna.

"Kannacchi, do you know how to play basketball?" He asked eagerly.

"B-Basketball? Oh! You guys really did like it, huh..." She smiled while scratching her chin. "Um... to be honest, I don't really know one-hundred percent... or five percent, even... hehe!"

Kise paused. If she didn't know, then... "Kannacchi, how did we meet? You and Teiko's middle school basketball team?"

"What, did you forget already?" She grinned. "That's..." she opened her mouth to speak; why would Kise say that? Everyone had been together forever, but...

She did forget _something._ She had made sure to, and something had told her it was inevitable. Her eyes started to widen. She couldn't remember why she had wanted to do it. She wanted to forget something, but kept it... what was it? If she couldn't remember even that, what else was she forgetting?

The bell had wrung and Kise left. She had forgotten how they met. But why? And just... what...?

Kanna stared at the place Kise had stood just minutes earlier. What was she missing?

* * *

Instead of paying attention in class, Kannacchi found herself deep in thought, wondering what she had forgotten. She couldn't remember why she had forgotten it in the first place and why it affected a lot of other things. She was unaware up to this point that everything was amiss. She truly believed that this was how she naturally was the whole time.

_If I chose it, then I shouldn't worry, because it was what I had done. But what was it? Kise asked that question for a reason. People keep calling me 'Kyou'. Could I have been behaving in a different way? Did I alter my personality? Why would I do something like that? There must be a reason..._ She was deep in thought. It wasn't easy to grasp. The 'her' that she knew so well may not have been 'her' at all. She could have been an entirely different person.

She thought about what she might've forgotten, before realizing that was useless. She could remember everything with Total Recall. When she looked back on the events, she recalled everything. One year, two year, three year, fo—she stopped. Four. What did she do when she was four? It was reasonable if she didn't remember the small details or easy parts, but she didn't remember anything. Past that, a lot events were shaky as well. She wasn't smiling at her birthday party when she was five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten. This couldn't have been that she was sad every single time. And if she was, why? More so, if she was, she would've frowned, not stayed uninterested like that.

Her timing was off. Her face fell. She was missing a whole part. And she needed to ask about it.

* * *

After school, she immediately went to the room Kise was in for classes and stood in the doorway.

Kise stopped talking with all the girls beside him. He began to wave, before his hand faltered. She looked like there was something urgent.

"Sorry, I've gotta go. You know, things like that." He grinned and left, gathering his things. She walked out of the room to wait for him at the gates.

A little while later, he spotted the black-haired girl. He ran up to her.

"Kyoucchi, is something wrong?" He asked. "I mean—" Just as he was about to correct himself, he saw the look on her face become more drastic. "Listen... I don't really know what's wrong, either... if you want answers, you'll have to see Akashicchi..." He said.

"I don't remember anything when I was four, and everything past that makes little to no sense." She said. Her expression was fearful. "And... everyone keeps calling me 'Kyou.' Why would they do that? I'd never call myself Kyou, especially if it's written in that kanji." She said quickly.

"Again... I really, really don't know anything... I'm sorry. I'm trying to help you figure this out, I really am... but I think Akashicchi or Midorimacchi could understand the whole situation faster than I can, so... maybe you'll have better luck with them." He said.

"But what if I don't?!" She asked. "What if I really forget everything..." She didn't speak anymore, but she didn't have to. Kise had the same thoughts on his mind for a while now.

_If this 'amnesia' really was the case, what if she did forget everything forever?_ These thoughts crowd his brain so that he can no longer think coherently. This Kanna was different than Kyou.

The thoughts he had thought both here and at that time had finally connected.

His eyes had been disoriented. The world had changed to a monochrome in an instant. In the middle of all of that, the blue of the clear cloudless sky. The intense contrast emitting from just that one color burnt the back of his eyes._ What's spreading out in front of my eyes right now, _He wondered.

Without realizing it, all of his feelings directly stimulated the inside of his brain like a punch. It wasn't as if he were going to try and do something at this point but once he ran over to her side, he could feel the heat enveloping in his throat, eyes, nose, head, and the reality that slammed into him hard. The person in front of him wasn't her. It wasn't her who he was just talking to moments earlier. It was just a different girl. No matter what anyone says, that girl wasn't her. He began to feel nauseated and his head ached horribly.

He had to tell her. He just decided recently to try and tell her. He had to hurry and tell her. It was really late, and she might feel disgusted but the way that she wasn't selfish at all, her bad habit of getting embarrassed every time he complimented her, the way she wouldn't tie him down, the scent of her fluttering hair, all of it...

_I really loved you._

* * *

Kise had gone to take a small breather while she sat on the cold stone walls. He had been crying. Whether he had noticed it or not was difficult to tell.

"Did I say something that upset Ryota-san...?" She said quietly. For some reason, she felt as though she didn't want to worry him. She firmly decided not to talk about that with him. Not anymore, at the very least. He had been really kind to her, so the least she could do was that.

Kise, meanwhile taking his break, cooled down. He looked at his phone. He had to send his report soon, huh...

While he was finishing his report, he remembered something. His expression didn't change while he saved his report as a draft for the time being and sent a new message.

'To: Kuroko Tetsuya

From: Kise Ryota

Yes.'

* * *

"Hey, you're back?" She let out a smile, but Kise could tell it was forced.

"Don't do that." He insisted.

"Do what?"

"That smile. I want Kannacchi to really smile. As much as I don't like how things are right now, I have a feeling that Kannacchi needs to enjoy it for the time she has things this way." He said.

She had a feeling that the guy was right, in a sense. Grinning at the fact, she began to laugh.

"Wh-What?" He asked urgently.

"You sure know what to say sometimes, for an idiot!" She continued laughing. His shocked expression slowly turned into a face of angered realization.

"H-Hey, what do you mean 'idiot'! You're so mean, Kannacchi!" He said, laughing.

"C'mon, c'mon, let's not forget who got the second-to-lowest score out of the Generation of Miracles during second-period exams..." She grinned.

"Q-Quiet about that! It's still second-to-lowest, not actual lowest! I beat Aominecchi!" He insisted urgently.

They both began to laugh. She spun on her heels and turned to face the blonde while walking backwards.

"Should we start going, then?" She asked.

"Sure." He said.

This wasn't the same Kyou—nor was it the same Kanna, but he figured changes like these, Kanna could still be his friend. But even though he had decided this, his feelings for Kyou didn't diminish. He didn't love Kanna; but she was a really good friend.

* * *

_To: Akashi Seijurou_

_ From: Kise Ryota_

_ Topic: Day One Report_

_ Today, me and Kyoucchi had a nice day! ...Actually, I could say Kannacchi. Umm, she seems to remember forgetting something, but she doesn't know what. She has a lot of questions for you when she sees you if the others don't answer it before you! _

_ Well, that's the easiest way to put it._

_ She's actually a little scared. I don't think she likes not knowing things. She doesn't remember how everyone met, either. She's a lot more mischievous than she was before, and impolite, but it's not all bad. She's also really nice now, and more open, too._

_ I hope everyone else treats her well, too._

* * *

**There concludes chapter 6! Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Btw, don't jump to assumptions yet.**

**(1)*: Kyou can be written with the same Kanji as misfortune.**

**Kise finally realized it; but he was a bit too late, so she was also gone.**

**Review and Favourite! I'll get Midorima-san's chapter updated soon.**


	7. Chapter 7

Guilty Innocence

Chapter Seven: Tell Me, Who Am I?**  
**

* * *

Midorima went to Shutoku High School, which was fairly far from Kaijou. So, after school, he asked Takao to come with him to pick up a friend of his.

Takao's reaction was obvious, as when he asked if it was Kyou, when Midorima had asked how he knew, he called it intuition.

No doubt that he saw the small details on Midorima's face, telling him it was Teiko.

When they arrived after school, she wasn't with Kise. Instead, when she saw the carriage carrying Takao and Midorima, she raised an eyebrow.

"Ohh? What're you doing here, Shintaro-san?" She asked.

"'Shintaro-san'?" Takao asked. "That's an interesting way to address someone. Right, Shin-chan?"

She frowned. She didn't like this guy's attitude. "Humph. Like you're any better. What's Shintaro-san to you anyway? You're calling him 'Shin-chan.' What are you, his boyfriend?"

Takao was normally a person to get along with others well at first. His comment had been a notice, not an insult as she had taken it. But he couldn't just let that slide.

"What was that? That's an awfully rude—" Shintaro placed a hand on Takao's shoulder.

"No. He isn't. Kanna, would you please calm down? It was just a misunderstanding." He said.

"A misunderstanding?" She asked. She didn't understand anything anymore, it seemed. It angered her. She turned her back to the two.

"Hey, hey, guys. Do you guys want to go somewhere?." Takao claimed.

"Place…?" Midorima asked. It was true that doing something would fun rather than what things currently were.

"I don't want to go if he's going." She glared at Takao.

"Now, now. Don't say that. I'm Kazunari Takao, and admittedly we got off to the wrong start, but let's not worry about that, okay?" He patted Kanna on the head.

_Seriously?! He's treating her like a kid…_ Midorima said in his head, before looking at Kanna's reaction. She seemed to be in her own world, finding comfort and happiness in just the small gesture of Takao's patting. _But unexpectedly effective?!_

Looking at it from his way, they seemed to almost be similar to have a brother-sister relationship already. Her outlook on Takao seemed to change at a startling pace.

"I don't want to burden you anymore so you don't have to ride us there. Since nothing's that far, we can walk." Midorima said to Takao.

"Phew. I don't think I can cart two people there." He replied with a grin.

"So, does Kazunari-san want me to address him as anything specific?" She asked.

"Um, Takao's fine, but if you want to add the -san, I think that's okay too." He shrugged.

"Takao-san is like a hawk. Yep. The king of hawks. The hawk king.*" She nodded.

He sweatdropped. Her puns were almost as bad as the Point Guard from Seirin's.

* * *

The first place they stopped by was Maji Burger**, where they all ordered something to eat.

"Hey, Takao-san." She asked him while Midorima had went to the washroom. "Christmas is coming up soon, so I wanted to know what I should get Shintaro-san."

"Hm… Shin-chan's gift, huh?" In truth, Takao hadn't thought of one, either. He had almost forgotten, too. "I would normally say something from a horoscope store, but he's probably got everything already. Uh, his favourite and lucky colour is green, but I have no idea. I'll probably think of something I can give him before Christmas, but I have no idea what you could." He said.

"Ehh… I have to get everyone something and I have no idea…" she sighed.

"Maybe you should ask someone else?" He asked.

She paused. "Do you like basketball, too?"

"Eh? Um, well, I know Shin-chan because I'm on the same team as him, so I guess I would say I would." He said.

"Ehh?! You're on the same team as Shintaro-san?!" She yelled.

"Yeah." He said.

"Which means you know how to play basketball?!"

"Y-Yeah…?" He grinned. "I thought that would be obvious, from Kyou. After all, you went to Teikou's basketball club with everyone.

"Huh? I… did…?" That seemed to be another thing she had forgotten. No matter how much fun she had, reality would continuously crash down on her. After all… "I'm not Kanna…?" She asked. "I'm Kanna! Hijiri Kanna!" She shouted. She had even begun to doubt herself.

"Kanna…?" He began to worry. She wasn't the same 'Kyou' he had seen as last time. He understood that when he met her today. But to have even to this extent… not knowing what to do, he decided to follow the lead that was given to him.

"Kanna, sorry!" He grinned. "I mistook you for someone else. No worries, no worries."

Midorima returned shortly after. "So, where to go to now?"

"Mm, how about the library?" Kanna asked.

"The library? Why a choice like that all of a sudden?" Shintarou asked.

"I want to learn how to play basketball." She said firmly. "All my friends are really good at it, and I don't want to be left behind."

"In that case, there's no choice. Me and Shin-chan' teach you, too." Takao said.

"I don't recall agreeing to this!" Shintaro exclaimed, but his calls were useless.

* * *

At the library, the group was choosing books. Takao was looking at manga and Shintaro was helping Kanna look for book about basketball.

"This one teaches how to play and most of the fundamentals of basketball," he held up one, "and this one teaches most of the rules." She snatched them out of his hands and to the librarian on duty, giving her her card.

"I'd like to check these out, please!" Kanna yelled.

"Hm?" She took her card and scanned it along with the books. "How strange—it's rare for girls to be interested in such sports. I'm glad people like you are still out there." She handed the books back to Kanna.

"Um, is that so?" She grinned. "Thank you, miss!"

* * *

After that, all three of them began to head out towards a basketball court. After visiting Maji Burger, though, both Midorima and Takao noticed that Kyou was in a considerably worse mood than earlier.

Though he wanted to ask what was wrong, it might have just made the atmosphere awkward. So, no matter how the decision, it was surely best not to ask.

They spent the remainder of the day on court, teaching her all there is to know about basketball. Things she were surprised about were Takao's Hawk Eye (with a small "I told you so***!") and Midorima's full court shot.

"Ahh, the both of you are really amazing… I don't even have the strength to shoot a foul shot…" she grinned sheepishly. The only thing she could do was shoot a layup and two-pointer so far. She barely had the upper body strength to shoot a foul shot with 50% accuracy, much less a three-pointer.

"Well, there were a few members on our Team who couldn't do anything like that." He said. "Kuroko can't shoot at all, and K—" he paused. He had almost mentioned her name. "Anyway, the other person was good at stealing while Kuroko was good at passing."

"Stealing?" She asked. "That sounds cool! How do you steal?!"

If concerning anything but basketball, that could've been regarded as a wrongly-phrased sentence, but despite it, the two taught her of it.

"And that's pretty much all you need to know." Midorima said.

"Ehh, it's getting late and my little sister had a special event happening today, so I have to go. It was nice seeing you, Shin-chan, Kanna." Takao waved and had left.

Kanna waved. As soon as he left, her smile faded a bit more.

"Kanna…?" He asked. He wasn't used to dealing with her. In truth, he never got along with people like her. Maybe it wasn't that he didn't get along, but he had never tried to. His eyes widened. He saw that she was crying. And he knew exactly what for.

It must've been frustrating. It must've been really frustrating. Not understanding, yet constantly being reminded that something was wrong.

"Shintaro-san… I'm real, right? I'm not a replacement, you guys like me for me, right…? Tell me, who am I?"

When she received no reply, her eyes widened.

So it was true. She ran off immediately.

"H-Hey, Kyou!" Midorima yelled. Not listening to him, she had already left.

This could have been prevented if he had chosen to help her rather than leave her alone. Only if… only… but now she had figured it out. So looking back on it, he couldn't fix it. He had a report to fill out.

* * *

'_To: Akashi Seijurou_

_ From: Midorima Shintaro_

_ Topic: Day Two Report_

_ Things today didn't go well. It was smooth at first, but eventually degenerated into something foul. Today predicted bad luck for Cancer and Capricorn if they were together—Oha Asa is always right. She ran off. I don't know where. But I think that she's found out that she's forgetting something, and now she's beginning to doubt herself. She doesn't want to think her existence is made up. But... I don't know anymore. The horoscope didn't predict anything good today. But... just of your concern.'_

* * *

**Officially my shortest chapter. Sorry guys, I'll make up for it with the next one, I swear!**

**Umm, consider this recompense for my super-long chapter two. At least you guys don't have to be burdened with reading something forever. Unless you're like me, who reads to pass time. Then unfortunately there's something less for you to read.**

**Sowwy?**

**(1)*: This is a pun on Takao's name. Taka can mean hawk, while Oo means king. Though this isn't how his name is spelled, it was still something I inferred from my multiple anime channels.**

**(2)**: Maji Burger is the place Kuroko always gets his vanilla milkshakes. It's kind of like McDonalds in the Basukeverse.**

**(3)***: This is just referring to what she said earlier towards Takao.**

**Up next is Kuroko! Also, I've almost officially decided that this is a Kise-Kyou Story. Or, we could say, Kise-Kanna.**

**Things will be revealed in just a few chapters; so hang tight.**

**Also, I was thinking of making an AkashiOC story, but I still don't have 100% details. If any of you like those, you can check that out when chapter one is done.**

**Thanks, again, guys! Favourite and review, if you have time! Sayonara!**


	8. Chapter 8

Guilty Innocence

Chapter Eight: I Don't Have Anything

* * *

It had been really early in the morning while unforecasted rain poured down on the earth. It should have been snow, but being just a degree too warm, was not. It was still very much freezing so, however. A lone person stood while looking out of the top of a train bridge with an uninterested look. When had the world turned into this monochrome image?

"Who... am I?" She asked. She recalled everyone. They had all called her Kyou. Was she really...

"No, I'm...!" Her iPod fell out of her pocket. Picking it up, she looked at her lock screen. It was a picture of her along with the various other members of Teikou. She wasn't smiling in the picture, and she didn't remember ever taking it. It had one message from Midorima. She looked as though she were on the verge of tears. "If that's fake, then who really am I..."

She felt a hand touch her shoulder. "Hey, what are you doing? You shouldn't be out here, you know?" She turned to see a boy. He was very tall, which gave him an overwhelming aura with the intensity of a Tiger's.

It's the guy who hangs out with Tetsuya-san! She exclaimed in her head. She gave him a small bow. "You go to Seirin?" she asked.

"Yeah. I do." He said calmly, before raising one of his split eyebrows. "Kagami Taiga's my name. By the way, you're..."

The tiger paused. He couldn't exactly remember the girl's name. "Um, well, you're one of of Kuroko's friends, right? Oh yeah, from Teikou!" He said. "What was your name again?"

She froze. It wasn't the same as calling her Kyou, but at that moment, she realized something. She immediately felt a tear drip down her cheek.

I don't have anything.

"Kagami-san, I don't have anything... no name, no memories, no friends... nothing!" She sobbed, and let out a cry.

"Oi, a-are you okay?" Kagami asked worriedly. "Hey, look here! Stay calm, 'kay?" She heightened her head gaze to meet his eyes.

"... Kagami-san..." She muttered.

"Uh, what?" He asked.

"Thank you." She replied. He pat her head in response.

"You're welcome."

Only a few minutes later, her stomach growled. Thinking of it, she hadn't eaten in the past few days...

"I... I'm hungry!" She yelled.

* * *

He had gotten her food that he had made soon after. She stopped crying shortly after, as she ate all his food.

"Whoa, Kagami-san, that was great!" She grinned. The man was looking at his phone. "You could be a pro! But... that food... it tastes... american." She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm from America." He said. "Anyway, I have to meet a friend. Actually, he's your friend too. It's Kuroko. Want to come along?" He asked.

"Yes, I don't mind." She nodded.

* * *

Kuroko was surprised to find Kanna with Kagami.

"Kanna-chan?" He asked.

"Tetsuya-san!" She yelled. "I'm glad to see you!"

"Yes... Kagami-kun, why—" Kuroko had started, but Kagami gave one of his trademark oh god why looks.

"I... I'll tell you later." He replied. "Hey... wait a second..." His eyes narrowed. He noticed. It was hard to tell, because of the fact she wore a female outfit, but it was easier to tell now. This girl was undoubtedly... Kyou? Hadn't the girl been more... unexpressive?

"You're..." He was about to say with utter confusion, when Kuroko injected suddenly.

"I'll tell you later."

"Can I hang out with Tetsuya-san and Taiga-san today?" She asked happily. This Kanna changed moods quickly.

"T-Taiga... san?" Kagami asked, eyes narrowed at the casual attitude the girl showed, and the casual way she called him.

"Yeah, I call all my friends like that. Tetsuya-san, Satsuki-san, Seijuro-san, Shintaro-san, Ryota-san, Atsushi-san and Daiki-san!" She grinned.

"I... see?" Kuroko had a lot of explaining to do to Kagami after this was done. "Well then, just standing here's boring. Let's do something."

"How about... the park?" Kanna asked with a smile that was difficult to say no to. However, Kagami and Kuroko had both felt like practicing basketball, so the group ventured to the park as requested.

* * *

At the park, they found a familiar male practicing basketball. With a decent build, tanned skin, and making every shot.

"Huh... it looks like this really is worthless, huh." The man said.

"Ahh! Daiki-san!" He cringed. The voice at first sounded like Momoi Satsuki, no doubt coming to nag him once again. But the way his name was said... he turned to see Kanna, Kuroko and Kagami.

"Eh? Kyou?" He said from a far distance, so the girl wasn't hear him. Remembering, he made a mental note to be sure to call her Kanna.

Kuroko confronted him first. "Aomine-kun," he said, typically appearing out of nowhere, causing the tanned guy to become startled but not as to show it. "You're practicing?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." He said, spinning the ball absentmindedly on his finger. "I was feeling nostalgic, I guess you could say."

"What do you mean? Daiki-san's always practicing. This isn't new. Usually you practice with him, Tetsuya-san." She said.

"Oh... yes, that's right." Kuroko claimed.

"Wait, this guy's another one of you?!" Kagami exclaimed, regarding the Generation of Miracles. "Then, how about a one-on-one?!" He challenged.

"Since there are four people, I believe we should have a two-on-two. Me and Kagami-kun versus Hijiri-chan and Aomine-kun." Kuroko claimed.

"Hah, make it three-on-one. I don't care. Kanna's probably just gonna drag me down and be a bother, anyway..." He paused. He forgot that Akashi warned him that this Kanna was fragile, even more so than Momoi. Aomine turned to look at Kanna's expression, seeing that it showed the smallest sign of shock. Then it turned into a sheepish smile with a blush.

Just then, a small tinge of guilt hit him. She could still smile after that?

"Whatever. Fine." He said. "Yeah. I want Kanna on my team, then." Her face brightened. "Let's just start."

* * *

The first team to have possession of the ball was Kagami and Kuroko. Immediately, Kyou went to guard Kagami.

_I-Is this girl stupid?!_ Aomine asked, before noticing something. Both his actions and thoughts were exactly like when he first saw Kyou play. This was just a majorly undeveloped version. And it sucked.

Kagami kept dribbling the ball. As he was about to pass to Kuroko, he noticed that the ball had gone out of bounds.

"Wait… what?" He asked. Aomine shot a three from the distance he was at.

Kagami didn't know, but both Tetsuya and Aomine found it. As the play continued, their suspicions had only become confirmed.

Kagami furrowed his split eyebrows. This was strange. How could she possibly do that well without fouling him? It wasn't like she could use misdirection or anything, and she could only steal and do a pass. It didn't happen again, as he knew what was coming, but even with her useless efforts, Aomine was a lot better than the two.

"Kuroko, what the hell?" He asked the boy about Kanna.

"She notices the muscle contractions on your fingers and estimates when you'll dribble and where your hand will go before grabbing it." He explained.

"So she was in Teiko's basketball club even though she was a girl, because she was like that?!" Kagami yelled.

"Actually, um, no." Kuroko said. "Her ability developed after speaking to Akashi one day—she joined Teiko because we thought she was a boy."

Kagami almost fell sideways. What was this, a comedy act?!

"The score's 10-5." Kagami said.

"Let me have the ball, please." Kuroko claimed.

"Do you not think I'm trying?!"

During the next play, Kuroko started with the ball. Kyou went to cover him, naturally. He passed to Kagami, when…

Aomine took the ball before it reached Kagami, and formlessly shot it in.

"Didn't forget about me, did you?" Aomine asked with a grin. "Your light is too dim."

"What was that?!" Taiga turned violently, thinking Aomine had insulted him.

"Nothing. Kuroko, we all know who won here. Call off the match. As for you," Daiki turned to Taiga, "Challenge me when you're better." He said.

Kagami's veins were almost visibly pulsating in his head with his anger. He covered this up with a grin. "Gah… haha, the Generation of Miracles really are amazing, huh."

"Kagami-kun, I think you should go cool down." Kuroko said.

"You too? Tch, whatever." He said, walking away.

"Umm…" deciding that Aomine and Kuroko had seemed like they wanted to speak to each other, she quickly left as well.

* * *

After the two had left, Tetsuya and Daiki looked at each other.

"Aomine-kun, you noticed it too, didn't you?" Kuroko said.

"Yeah. That way of basketball… it's definitely Kyou's, but it sucks. Kyou wouldn't just go right up to them like that." He said. "Kanna's really like Kyou, huh."

"Don't get it mistaken. Kanna is Kyou." The invisible man said.

"I don't know. Couldn't it be 'Kyou is Kanna', too?" He asked, shrugging. "Either way, you'll have to fill out a report at the end of the day, not me."

"Aomine-kun? Do you know what's wrong with Kyou-chan?"

"If I did, would I keep it to myself?" He sighed. "I know someone who might; though. And, no doubt he'll tell us sooner or later."

And both the boys knew whom the other was talking about.

* * *

Kanna was walking with Kagami.

"You're really hotheaded, Taiga-san." She smiled.

"Don't start." He glared. "You look really… weak. And you kind of suck."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" She yelled at him jokingly. "No, I really do understand where you're coming from. I actually only learned how to play yesterday from Takao-san and Shintaro-san."

"Yesterday? But weren't you on Teiko's basketball team?" He asked.

"Eh? Why would you say that? I'm a girl, and Satsuki-san was the only manager." She said, when she realized something.

_How did we meet, Kannacchi_? Kise Ryota had asked that question that day. Since he had known this piece of information, she knew they had met through the basketball club. But how exactly so she wasn't sure. She had regained something; that was good. As long as it was even the smallest piece of information, she had still recovered something.

"Hey, Taiga-san." She asked. "I don't remember anything. I don't have anything. I don't know my name, my friends, or anything at all."

Despite having been crying earlier, she seemed calmer about it this time.

This could possibly have been what Kuroko had been talking about, leading to her swift personality change. Of course, the idiot didn't elaborate on this and replied with, "Um, okay."

"Has Taiga-san cooled down?" She asked him. He heavily sighed.

"I'm good enough. We should get heading back, then."

* * *

While the day had ended, and they had been doing whatever they did on days like these, all of them received the same text, from the same person.

'From: Akashi Seijurou

To: Kise Ryota; Midorima Shintaro; Aomine Daiki; Kuroko Tetsuya; Murasakibara Atsushi

Topic: Gun Tragedy

said the kid took the loaded gun to the neighbors on Tuesday. Investigators said three kids were in the house when the gun went off accidentally while playing cowboys. Unfortunately, one bullet bounced off an iron vase and hit three kids. Two"Police deaths and one injury. The survivor was named Hijiri Kanna. The one who pulled the trigger was also Hijiri Kanna."'

-o-

Kanna really had wanted answers. To the point where she had began getting desperate. After all, if not due to the conditions, she would never have initiated contact with Akashi Seijurou. Especially not in a text.

_Kanna: Akashi, what happened? _

After sending this, she threw her phone on the ground. That message was really cryptic. Plus, it sounded like _he_ was the one who had the problem. She looked on her phone. The message displayed her exact thoughts.

_Akashi : What do you mean?_

_Kanna: What I mean is, what happened to me?_

_Akashi: I don't know what you're talking about, Kanna._

_Kanna: Don't do that. In my mind, I can't recall all events since I turned four._

Akashi did not respond to this, but the screen showed that he had seen the text.

_Kanna: That's not all. I don't even remember how everyone met. Other people said I was on Teiko's basketball team, but I'm a girl. I don't remember the reasons I joined. I don't recall any of that. Parts are missing in my past. And everyone calls me 'Kyou'. I've come up with a conclusion._

_Akashi: Which one._

_Kanna: I have Multiple Personality Disorder and named my other self 'Kyou.'_

_Akashi: No._

Kanna speculated this. The boy sounded so certain. Akashi wasn't wrong. Ever. But there were firsts for everything, right? Besides...

_Kanna: Then what do you think?_

_Akashi: I can't tell you._

_Kanna: The only other explanation I can come up with is that I forgot about something. Whatever it was caused me so much pain that I couldn't take it. Is that it?_  
Akashi didn't respond once again. Even he could sense the fear in the text. Not just that, but the one thing she had taken away from herself, too. Guilt.

_Kanna: It is, isn't it? Seijurou-kun, what did I make myself forget?_

_Akashi: I can't tell you._

_Kanna: Why?_

_Akashi: You wanted to forget it and telling you would ruin it. But you'll probably remember soon._

_Kanna: So you lied to me? _

_Akashi: Yes._

_Kanna: So... I wanted to forget... but I'll remember soon. I don't understand. What if I don't? Seijurou-san?_

There was no reply. This time, it wasn't even seen. She threw her iPod in her pocket and left the house, despite how dark it was.

When she had found an easy place to rest, she looked up at the sky while sitting on a hilly roadside. She looked at the sky with an uninterested look; she almost had the appearance of Kyou. The sky... for some reason, she knew the constellations. When had she learned that?

She didn't really understand anything, huh. She felt a rumble from her pocket. It was a notification. She opened her iPod to view the message, and saw a message from Midorima.

'From: Midorima Shintaro

To: Hijiri Kanna

Kyou was a really good person, as you could tell by how many friends she had. Then she forgot an event that impacted her life, and became Kanna, who you are now. Even though it might not end well, and I don't know if you'll stay like this forever, I don't think that's going to be the way fate moves in. This means that you should accept who you are.

However, I think Kyou and Kanna are both the same and not the same. The fun everyone had together and the tears you shed belong to you. Your memories also belong to you. So that's why I'll help you to get your memories back, even if it defies Akashi's orders. I think everyone else will, too. This is my answer to the question you asked with tears running down your face that day.'

She hid her face. She glanced once more at the iPod screen that she had switched to. It was the internet browser.

And it displayed everything that had happened to Hijiri Kanna. She opened up the 'New Email' option.

* * *

'To: Akashi Seijurou; Midorima Shintaro; Kise Ryota; Kuroko Tetsuya; Aomine Daiki; Murasakibara Atsushi

From: Hijiri Kanna

Let's settle this. Come to the park right away. If you don't come, then I'll never speak to any of you ever again.'

* * *

** And here I leave off once again at a cliffhanger! joyful**

**two things have been confirmed in this chapter. Kanna finally found out about Kyou. Kanna also found out about the event. **

**What next? Who will be able to tell?! **

**Special thanks to Ninja99 and reiichi for reviewing!**

**I'll be starting, soon also, my Akashi story. I've sort of got it, but I have to make sure things aren't too OOC. Especially the way I'm going at it. Plus, I'm going to ask for someone to edit it to make sure at least the first few chapters aren't grammatically horrible.**

**I really like writing and hope to see y'all in the future! Bye-bye now!**


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